Scoring The Writing Performance Assessment

The "holistic" scoring approach is used in the scoring of the writing assessment.  The scoring of each student's writing, which is a response to a single prompt (topic), is guided by  a set of criteria.  The guide to score writing ranges from 1 to 6.  Please note that your child's score appears in a range of 2 to 12 since every student's essay is read and scored by two readers for a total score.

This scoring guide for writing was developed in Rhode Island by educators from throughout the state.  They developed the prompts for each grade level.

Scoring Criteria Guide: Rhode Island Writing Assessment

Score

Description

6
Presents thoughtful ideas and develops them logically, fully and clearly; is very well-organized from beginning to end; has a strong command of sentence structure; uses language effectively; has few intrusive errors in grammar and conventions (spelling, punctuation and capitalization).  A "6" essay may be distinguished by features such as making insightful observations, using rich details, or creationg an effective scene or mood.
5
Presents good ideas and develops them logically, fully and clearly; is very well-organized throughout; has a generally strong command of sentence structure; uses language well; has relatively few intrusive errors in grammar and conventions.
4
Presents relevant ideas and develops them clearly and fairly well; is generally well-organized throughout; has generally well-formed sentences; uses language fairly well; has relatively few serious, intrusive errors in grammar and conventions.
3
Presents some relevant ideas fairly clearly and gives some support; shows some sense of organization; has generally correct sentence structure; uses language adequately; may contain some serious errors in grammar and conventions.
2
Gives some relevant ideas, but they are unclear or barely developed; shows little sense of organization; lacks sentence control; uses language poorly; probably contains serious errors in grammar and conventions.
1
Probably contains serious and persistent errors; is incoherent or underdeveloped.

 
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