e-asTTle Writing
Fraser School30th April 2012
LI/SC
Know about the
components of the new e-
asTTle writing
Choose a prompt (task)
Have a go at using
a rubric
Learn About New e asTTle
The scope of NEW easTTle
• Years 1 to 10 (up to L6)suitable for students who can independently communicate at least one or two simple ideas in writing
• Valid and reliable• Compatible with the existing e-asTTle
technology
What does the tool assess?
A part of the whole• General writing competence
- skills not specific to particular learning areas—does not assess content knowledge- aspects of writing-to-communicate across the curriculum- skills core to writing in general
• Independent writing of continuous text across five communicative purposes and seven elements
- prompts specify a purpose but the rubric accommodates multiple purposes
- describe, explain, recount, narrate, persuade- writing scored element by element but appears as an overall score on the
measurement scale- ideas, structure and language, organisation, vocabulary, sentence structure,
punctuation, spelling (formerly known as curriculum functions/features/dimensions)
What does the tool assess?
A part of the whole
• Why only a part of the whole?- The e-asTTle model for assessment and reporting
involves standardised tasks that lead to reliable results that can be reported on measurement scales
- One assessment can’t assess everything - Not sufficient for making an OTJ (see 4.2 in manual)
The components of e-asTTle writing
• 20 prompts (formerly known as tasks)
• Marking rubric (includes structure and language notes)
• Annotated exemplars• Glossary and definitions• Scoring and reporting tools
Using an e-asTTle writing assessment
An e-asTTle writing assessment involves:• Selecting a prompt• Introducing the prompt to the students- 5 mins and
no written record of discussion. • Students writing to the prompt for up to 40 minutes• Scoring the responses against a rubric with the help
of annotated exemplars• Entering results into the online application and
generating reports.
Create a new “test”
Create a customised test
Choose a purpose
Select a prompt
A writing prompt
Choosing a prompt
• Teachers need to use professional judgement to ensure a prompt is appropriate.
For example, consider:- the level of abstraction- the complexity of the text structure- the context
Some prompts use slightly simplified language:- the three recounting prompts- three of the describing prompts
The marking rubric elements
Marking rubric: Ideas
Marking process• Markers need:
- student script- prompt- marking rubric (ideas, structure and language, organisation, vocabulary, sentence
structure, punctuation, and spelling)- structure and language notes- annotated exemplars- glossary and definitions
• A step by step approach:- read through whole script- work through rubric element by element- check writing against category descriptors and notes to identify best fit category (R1, R2 , R3
etc)- use exemplars to clarify and confirm decisions- moderate decisions- record each score on front page of student writing booklet
Characteristics of a fair marker
• During marking:- self disciplined—need to recognise the authority of the
rubric and put aside their knowledge of the student as a whole
- a team player—need to accumulate a shared understanding of the rubric
• After marking (planning next steps):- creative
Annotated exemplar
Characteristics of the annotated exemplars
• The 76 annotated exemplars:- developed from student responses to the 20 prompts- marked using the rubric- cover all prompts (each prompt has at least 3, covering a range of scores—low,
medium, and high)
• The student scripts exemplify: - typical, not ideal, writing- tricky features to score (e.g., possibly off-topic; multiple purposes)
• The annotations:- justify scores
• The generic exemplars:- from the same group of 76- used to check interpretation of individual categories
National reference information for e-asTTle writing
National reference information is available for:• Year level• Year level by gender• Year level by ethnicity• Year level by region• Year level by “English at home”• Year level by “schools like us”