BEYOND SCORING: RESPONDING TO EXTENSIVE WRITING

Formal testing carries with it the burden of designing a practical and reliable intrument that assesses its intended criterion accurately. To accomplish that missions designers of writing tests are charged with the task of providing as “objective” as scoring procedure as possible, and one that in many cases can be easily interpreted by agents beyond the learner. Holistic, primary trait, and analytic scoring all satisfy those ends.

Assessing Initial Stages of the Process of Composing

These guidelines are generic for self, peer, and teach-responding.

The teacher-assessor’s role is as a guide, a facilitator, and an ally; therefore, assessment at this stage of writing needs to be as positive as possible to encourage the writer.

Assessing Later Stages of the Process of Composing

Once the writer has determined and clarified his or her purpose and plan, and have completed at least one or perhaps two drafts, the focus shifts toward “fine tuning” the expression with a view toward a final revision. Editing and responding assume an appropriately different character now, with these guidelines:

Through all these stages it is assumed that peers and teacher are both responding to the writer throigh conferencing in person, electoninc comminication, or, at the very least, an exchange of papers.