In March, teachers in the district were re-calibrated in the use of the writing assessment by Northwest Laboratories. The team learned that this was critical to the process, as teachers had diverged in their interpretations of the assessment during the year. There will be increased attention next year in building a common understanding of the process. The team reports that the practice of teaching writing is radically changed at the high school. For the first time, all teachers teach and score writing samples.
Teachers collaborate and coach each other in the use of the same process.
Seven out of the 10 students who wrote their baseline samples in Spanish wrote their finals in English. The team feels that the writing assessment accurately scores elements such as voice, ideas, organization and mechanics, regardless of the language used. Therefore, the team concluded that a final score in a 2nd language reflects at least a minimum level of writing achievement, that might or might not be greater in the home language. It is clear that the growth number can be viewed as an indicator of success, but not an absolute. Other variables include the editing process before the student work is scored, where more assistance with some students versus others can greatly influence the final outcome.