A high-school department scores the same timed writing task in autumn and spring on a 12-strand ‘improvement rubric’ that places students on a continuum instead of labelling them ‘far below basic’. Norming and trend charts turn scores into next steps.
Process (grades 9–12)
- Students respond to a reading passage (UC AWPE prompts), autumn and spring.
- Teachers norm on high/medium/low papers over two days.
- Score on 12 strands (ISAW programme), as positions on a continuum; explicitly not summative.
- Chart patterns by grade; pick focus strands per unit.
- Spring: re-score in a different colour to see which strands moved; set next year’s goals.
Limits
“A tremendous amount of work”; no outcome data; the rubric is only shown as an image.
Apply in my context (Claude)
- Same design with Cambridge/IELTS writing criteria: a September and a May sample on the same prompt type, scored per criterion, gives a growth picture that a band score hides. Good evidence for parents and for DELTA Module 3 evaluation.
Connections
CPD portfolios - What, So what, Now what · Turn writing feedback into a learning activity · The case against grades