TAKS Holistic Scoring

1. TAKS Holistic Scoring Region 10 ESC Michelle Green and Jayne Knighton Language Arts Consultants

2. Today�s Agenda 8:30 Welcome & Introductory Remarks 9:00 Presentation of Scoring Guide 10:00 Break 10:15 Continuance of Guide Presentation 11:45 Lunch 1:00 Practice Set A 2:15 Break 2:30 Practice Set B 3:45 Closing Remarks & Evaluation

3. TAAS vs. TAKS Elaboration driven Quantity of ideas Writer silent Run out of room Ideas w/ extension Scorers decoded Contrived devices Disconnected points Add up strategy Driven by writing Quality of Ideas Student voice Sense of completeness Developed Ideas Conventions count Focus on thinking Connectedness Coherence & Focus

4. Focused Holistic Scoring Focused � because the scorer focuses on an established set of criteria Holistic � because the scorer takes into consideration the whole paper and assigns one score

5. Score Points

6. Scoring Procedures Ten scorers make up a team. Each paper is scored by two scorers from two different teams. If the two scorers assign the same score, then the decision is final and the paper is given a score.

7. Scoring Procedures, continued If the two scorers assign different scores, then the paper is given to a third scorer from another scoring team. If there is still a discrepancy, then the paper goes to the scoring director and sometimes on to Victoria Young and the TEA staff.

8. About the Prompt The prompt is meant to be a springboard to get the writer to think and reflect.

9. About the Prompt Page The prompt page has two components: The actual prompt in a rectangular box at the top of the page A �kid friendly� version of the rubric

10. About the Prewriting Three or four blank pages will be available at the back of student test booklets for prewriting with a heading that will read, �Use this page for prewriting.� Scorers will not see the prewriting pages.

11. About Authenticity �We want to honor student writers and their desire to bring their ideas to the paper in an authentic way.� Victoria Young, TEA

12. About Scoring The space within score points is a lot bigger than the space between scorer points. In other words, some low fours look a lot more like high threes than high fours. The rubric, while the same at all grade levels, plays out differently.

13. About Scoring The �push� is for depth of thought. Questions to Ponder Does the information that�s added help the reader understand what the writer is saying to a grater capacity? Is there evidence of reflection?

14. What�s the difference between elaboration and depth of development? Elaboration � has many adjectives, uses lots of details, tells more, provides horizontal development Depth of development � provides significance, goes deeper into the writers thoughts, provides vertical development

15. About Reference Materials Seventh graders will write the composition first, then turn in their reference materials (dictionaries and thesauruses) before taking the editing/revising multiple choice portion of the test. Sample questions come before the seal. Students may return to the composition, but they may NOT have access to reference tools once the seal is broken.

16. About Reference Materials Ratio of 1:5 constitutes reasonable access Resources may contain biographical, geographical information, etc. Students may not have access to a grammar or style guide during the revision/editing section Students may not use a bilingual dictionary Students may use resources from home

17. Focus & Coherence Central theme Controlling idea Links clearly show relationship of ideas Connectedness apparent Introduction & Conclusion add meaning Ineligible for 4 without conclusion Completion within 2 pages allotted

18. Organization Does it make sense? Organizational strategy Sentence to sentence movement Paragraph to paragraph progression Not physical organization (ie., indenting) Thread throughout the flow of ideas Successful planning critical

19. Development of Ideas Depth and substance v. abundance of info. Thorough and specific dev. of each thought Not elaboration driven Beyond plot summary, links to own ideas Quality v. quantity Ideas are interesting and thoughtful Evidence of thought & development Compositional risk encouraged

20. Voice Is there a face behind the paper? No certain gimmick that leads to voice Not sparkle words, statistics, A sense of the writer is apparent Evidence of thought and reflection Reflects the writer�s individuality Dialogue and personal anecdotes

21. Conventions Writing for an outside audience Encourage rich vocabulary Weak conventions can hinder score Strong conventions can help score Sentence boundaries important Spelling remains critical Consistency of conventions key