The following are samples that received a score of 2 for the composing and written expression portion of the Short Paper Component of the English SOL test. They include annotations, examples of questions and writing checklists that teachers can use to assist students in the revision and editing process, as well as color overlays that align to the Instructional Writing Checklist for teachers. Checkmarks at the beginning on a line indicates a usage and mechanics error.
Understand Scoring provides educators with information about the SOL writing assessments, including the rubrics and anchor papers that illustrate each score point on the composing/written expression and usage/mechanics domains used to score the Short Paper Components of the writing tests. The application is intended to assist teachers in preparing students for the SOL writing tests.
Instruction Writing Checklists provide teachers with information to evaluate student writing. School divisions may add additional writing requirements to these documents. For K-12 grade-specific student writing expectations, teachers should consult the Curriculum Framework.
The SOL Practice Items provide the opportunity for students to practice multiple-choice and technology-enhanced items (TEI) that reflect the new content and increased rigor of the revised English SOL.
To prepare students fully for the online writing assessment, teachers are encouraged to use the Writing Practice Tool (Word) with their students in order to familiarize students with the online formatting tools available in the TestNav testing platform. These formatting tools mirror those of many word processing programs.
Prior to each scoring session, a committee of Florida educators is convened to read student responses and select papers to represent the range of quality allowed within the established criteria for each score point on the rubric based on the approved calibration scoring guides. These papers are used to train the readers for the holistic scoring of the FCAT 2.0 Writing responses. Each anchor set (scoring guide) includes a student response and an annotation to explain why it was assigned a particular score. This provides the basis for developing a common understanding of the scoring criteria. The released 2013 FCAT 2.0 Writing Anchor Sets for grades 4, 8 and 10 contain examples of responses used as training materials for scoring the 2013 writing assessment.
The Tennessee writing rubrics are designed to score the student responses from the writing portion of the TNReady assessment. Each rubric is aligned to the appropriate grade-level standards in the Writing and Language strands. Though the rubrics are not explicitly designed to be used as instructional resources, the department provides the writing rubrics in advance so that educators can prepare students for the writing portion of the TNReady assessment.
The TCAP writing rubrics are designed to be applied holistically rather than through a checklist. Each student response is unique, and each rubric score point is broad. Annotated student anchor papers serve as examples of how the rubrics are applied to individual papers and represent a range of performance levels.
Your essay will be scored holistically by two raters. The raters will use the criteria listed below when evaluating your essay. The score you receive for your essay will be the combined total of the two raters scores. A score of at least 8 out of 12 points must be achieved to obtain a passing score on the Essay subtest of the General Knowledge Test.
Watch the time. Take a few minutes at the beginning of the period to plan your essay and at the end to proofread or revise your work. Use all the time wisely. You should not run out of time before you are done; nor should you write an incomplete essay because you did not use all the time allowed. NOTE: You do not have time to write a rough draft and then completely rewrite it. Spend your time writing and editing your final essay.
Read the instructions carefully. Determine what the topic is asking. Think of how the topic relates to what you know, what you have learned, and what experiences you have had, so you can provide concrete details rather than vague generalities.
Write a thesis statement that provides a clear focus for your essay. State a point of view in your thesis that guides the purpose and scope of your essay. Consider the larger point you are trying to convey to the reader and what you want the reader to understand about the topic. Avoid a thesis statement framed as a statement of fact, a question, or an announcement.
Develop the essay according to your purpose. Develop paragraphs fully to give the reader examples and reasons that support your thesis. Note that a good essay for the General Knowledge Test may be longer or shorter than the basic five-paragraph format of some short essays. Do not limit yourself to an arbitrary length. The key is to develop a topic by using concrete, informative details.
Tie your main ideas together with a brief conclusion. Provide a concluding paragraph that ties together the essay's points and offers insights about the topic. Avoid a conclusion that merely restates the thesis and repeats the supporting details. Check your time. If the writing period is almost over, wrap up quickly, so you can proofread or revise.
Revise/proofread the essay to conform to standard American English. Look for particular errors you tend to make. Read the essay from the last sentence to the first and make corrections. Look for words, sentences, or even paragraphs that need changing.
You will have 50 minutes to plan, write, and proofread an start uppercase ORIGINAL end uppercase essay on the topic presented. start uppercase READ THE TOPIC CAREFULLY TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE BEING ASKED TO DO end uppercase .
You must write an start underline original essay that specifically and directly responds to the topic end underline . Pre-prepared essays or essays that are discovered to contain memorized sentences or pre-prepared passages will be invalidated. For example, if the essay raters discover passages that appear in two or more essays, the essays and the violation will be brought to the attention of the Florida Department of Education and may result in the invalidation of your scores.
Your essay should introduce the topic and then explain the topic and/or take a position on the topic and support that position. In order for your essay to be scored, it start underline must address the entire topic end underline .
At least two raters will read your essay, and each will assign it a score. Your essay will not be scored on the position you take or the opinions you express. Your essay will be evaluated holistically according to the following criteria:
The sample responses below include an example that meets the general level of writing skill necessary to receive a passing score as well as an example that does not meet the required standard. All responses are scored holistically, meaning that both strengths and weaknesses are weighed when assigning an overall score. While rationales are provided, it is important to keep in mind that not all strengths and weaknesses are identified and that there may be errors in grammar and mechanical conventions, even in the sample passing response.
start bold Essay Topic:
The use of technology in education and access to the Internet in schools can potentially lead to threatening situations for students. Provide an analysis of two aspects that educators should consider when developing a plan to protect students from potential threats. end bold
Please note: The sample response provided below is for review purposes only and should not be used in a response on an operational exam. Use of the exact words and phrases presented in this sample response will result in a Not Passing score due to lack of original work.
In today's society, technology is the core to most of our daily lives. From our personal cellular devices, to televisions, computers, wireless headphones, and tablets we are constantly in contact with technology. This is especially true of our young people who are being exposed to technology almost from birth in many households. In education, technology usage begins in preschool for many programs. The use of technology at these young ages has several advantages for both students and teachers including: allowing teachers to provide immediate feedback to student responses, increasing student engagement with diversified curriculum, as well as exposing students to topics that would be otherwise impossible without digital versions. While all of these positives make it highly beneficial for educators to utilize technology in the classroom there are several disadvantages that can lead to potentially threatening situations for students' personal or educational lives. In order to prevent such situations, educators must be mindful of those situations and prepare curriculum accordingly. Two of primary concern for our students, in particular as they enter junior high and high school, are cyberbullying and lack of focus. Here I will discuss how curriculum plans can be developed to minimize these potential threats.
Cyberbullying is an issue that continues to receive attention nationally because of the extreme situations that have occurred. Over the past 15 years the annual number of reported incidents of cyberbullying continues to increase. This has much to do with the fact that students are unable to get away from their bullies because of the constant access to technology. For many students the additional use of technology for educational purposes can be a concern because it can lead to increases in such attacks. It is imperative as educators that we be aware of such situations and prepare our plans to minimize these threats. This may seem like a daunting task, however simple strategies can be employed which can easily minimize threats. First, any and all websites used for classroom discussion boards need to have the capability to be monitored and should be monitored by the instructor. Secondly, any posts made by students should be made using a students actual name and not an ambiguous or anonymous username. These two criteria will reduce the number of students that will post inappropriate, offensive or degrading information because they can easily be caught. Additionally educators should have in place guidelines for punishment if a student does bully another student on such sites. For example, any student that posts derogatory information towards another student on a class site should be issued a referal for such action. Harsher punishments can be given to students who continue to bully.
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