My Students Can’t Write: What Can I Do?

1. My Students Can’t Write: What Can I Do? Tom Pusateri Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Analysis Jeffrey R. Galin University Center for Excellence in Writing Tim Lenz Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters Special Assistant for Teaching Initiatives

2. What Problems Do You Encounter with Student Writing? • Problems • Responsibilities • Solutions

3. Summative Comments on what students have done well, what poorly, and assigning a grade Formative comments that elicit revision from students Summative or Formative Assessment

4. Holistic One grade is given for overall impression of paper Analytical Separate scores are given for each criterion of evaluation Holistic or Analytical Assessment

5. FAU English Dept. Rubric FAU’S English Department voted to use this rubric to provide feedback to students in all of their 3000- and 4000-level courses. Faculty provide this rubric in their syllabi and direct their feedback to students using this rubric. RUBRIC FOR HOLISTIC ASSESSMENT OF ESSAYS SUPERIOR Addresses the question or prompt fully Demonstrates substantial comprehension of relevant material Shows substantial depth, complexity, and creativity of thought Demonstrates clear and coherent organization Develops arguments fully with ample supporting detail Demonstrates superior control of diction, syntactic variety, and transitions STRONG Address the question or prompt substantively, yet not fully Demonstrates comprehension of relevant material Shows depth, complexity, and creativity of thought Demonstrates clear organization Develops arguments with supporting detail Demonstrates control of diction, syntactic variety, and transition COMPETENT Adequately addresses the question or prompt Demonstrates adequate understanding of relevant material Shows clarity of thought but may treat the topic simplistically or repetitively Demonstrates adequate organization Develops arguments adequately, with some detail Demonstrates adequate facility with syntax, mechanics, and usage but contains some errors INADEQUATE May distort or neglect parts of the question or prompt, and/or Fails to comprehend relevant material Lacks clarity of thought or demonstrates confused or simplistic thinking, and/or Lacks adequate organization, and/or Fails to provide adequate or appropriate details to support generalizations, or may provide details without generalization, and/or Demonstrates significant patterns of errors in language, syntax, or mechanics

6. USC Aiken requires all junior-level students to submit a portfolio of their writing from several courses. Faculty use this analytical rubric to evaluate the quality of writing in each student’s portfolio. USC Aiken provides departments with summary data that describes the quality of writing submitted by their majors.

7. Loras College Portfolio Rubric 1998 PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT SCORING RUBRIC For each “area of competence assessment” listed below, please score the writings in the portfolio as a whole on the following scale: 1 Deficiency(ies) on this criterion are so serious as to obstruct the author’s intended meaning and require remediation. 2 Deficiency(ies) on this criterion distract from meaning or the writer’s purpose. 3 Generally competent on this criterion, with some deficiencies that need revision. 4 Beyond competence and worthy of congratulation. Performance on this criterion positively contributes to the author’s intended purpose. The author shows sophistication in employing this criterion to achieve his or her purpose. AREA OF COMPETENCE ASSESSMENT Portfolio #_______ A. The student supports ideas with evidence: 1 2 3 4 from personal experience and/or research that is appropriate for the assignment; in a format (e.g., citations, references) appropriate for the discipline and level of assignment; that the student interprets and/or integrates in the paper. B. The student displays creativity, voice, and/or a sense 1 2 3 4 of audience: by taking a fresh, novel, or original approach to the subject; by conveying the student’s individuality through tone and style; by directing the writing to a specific and appropriate audience. C. The student organizes the writing in ways that: 1 2 3 4 are consistent with the purpose of the assignment; articulate the purpose and structure of the paper, usually near the start of the paper; link paragraphs and sentences within paragraphs (which are of reasonable length). D. The student demonstrates critical thinking in one or more 1 2 3 4 of the following ways: by considering and articulating varying perspectives; by analyzing arguments, relating evidence to claims, and defending a position; by developing a consistent theme. E. The student usesstandard English and effective prose: 1 2 3 4 by spelling words correctly and punctuating appropriately; by using correct grammar (e.g., no inappropriate run-on sentences or fragments); by writing clear, concise, and varied prose. OVERALL RATING 1 2 3 4 (1 = well below criteria, 2 = below criteria, 3 = meets criteria, 4 = exceeds criteria) Loras College developed this analytical rubric to assess the quality of writing in portfolios submitted by its sophomore students. Note the similarity of criteria for writing that were developed independently by faculty at Loras College and at USC Aiken (previous slide).

10. Allocating your time Assign and Guide Assign Grade Many faculty members devote less time to discussing writing assignments and more time providing comments and feedback as they grade those assignments. (NOTE: This often occurs the first time you develop an assignment, when you aren’t yet certain what criteria you will use to evaluate student papers.) Paul Anderson “The Future ofWriting Across the Curriculum at Florida Atlantic University: Possibilities and Implications”

11. Allocating your time Assign Grade Assign and Guide Grade By devoting more time to providing students guidance and suggestions prior to writing, you can often reduce the amount of time you need to spend grading papers. Paul Anderson “The Future ofWriting Across the Curriculum at Florida Atlantic University: Possibilities and Implications”

12. Resources Websites: • IEA Home page:  http://iea.fau.edu/ (To get to Scoring Rubrics, click on the link to “Assessment Resources” and then the link to “Recommended Teaching Pedagogies”) • Direct link to Scoring Rubrics:  http://iea.fau.edu/pusateri/assess/pedagogy.htm#Scoring%20Rubrics (This site provides links to several online resources for scoring rubrics.) Recommended Book: • Scoring Rubrics in the Classroom (Arter & McTighe):  http://www.corwinpress.com/book.aspx?pid=3950