Assessing writing ability in primary education : on the evaluation of text quality and text complexity

Feenstra, Hiske

doi:10.3990/1.9789036537254

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…Assessments provide teachers with input for giving students adequate feedback, and for adjusting their teaching. However, research has shown that teachers often find assessing students’ texts challenging (Feenstra, 2014; Weigle, 2002). The ideas teachers have about what constitutes a good text, influence how much weight they give to certain aspects of writing and how they rate text quality (Bouwer, Koster, & Van den Bergh, 2016).…”

Section: Three Components To Map: Classroom Practice Learning Time An...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching writing in primary education: Classroom practice, time, teachers’ beliefs and skills.

Rietdijk

Weijen

Janssen

et al. 2018

Journal of Educational Psychology

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The aim of this study was to provide insight into the current practice of writing instruction in Dutch primary education, as a stepping stone for designing and implementing sustainable innovations that could satisfy both practitioners and policymakers. We investigated the extent to which three domain-specific approachescommunicative writing, process writing, and writing strategy instruction-and general features of high-quality instruction were implemented in writing lessons in the upper grades of primary schools. We also examined the learning time for writing, teachers' views on writing and writing instruction, how efficacious they feel about teaching writing, and how skilled they are in the writing instruction domain. Lastly, we explored relations between classroom practices, learning time, and teachers' beliefs and skills through correlation analysis, to identify potential aids and constraints to guide innovations in writing education. Participants were 61 teachers of 45 primary schools in the Netherlands. Data were collected through questionnaires, stimulated recall interviews and over 100 lesson observations. Results indicated that the three domain-specific approaches for writing instruction were insufficiently implemented in Dutch classrooms, as were differentiating and the teaching of learning strategies. The allocated learning time was also insufficient, but the realized learning time and the extent to which teachers promoted active learning were satisfactory, providing a strong basis for curricular improvement. Several relations were found between teachers' classroom practices, learning time, and teachers' beliefs and skills in the domain of writing instruction. Finally, we discuss options for sustainable innovations of writing instruction in this national context. Educational Impact and Implications StatementThe aim of this study was to provide insight into the current state of writing instruction in the upper primary level in the Netherlands, as a knowledge base for designing sustainable curricular innovations including professional development programs. The results indicated that teachers evaluate their writing lessons, are able to assess the communicative effectiveness of students' texts, promote active learning, and use the allocated learning time efficiently. However, not enough writing lessons are taught in Dutch primary schools. Also, little attention is paid to communicative aspects of writing, the writing process, teaching strategies, differentiating, and tracking students' writing development. Moreover, teachers' efficacy in teaching writing is moderate. The correlational network between teachers' beliefs and skills and classroom practices suggests that innovations must take these belief systems into account to be successful and sustainable. Overall, this study provides valuable clues for designing, adjusting, and implementing innovations in writing education in a particular region which could meet the concerns of both practitioners and policymakers.

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Section: Three Components To Map: Classroom Practice Learning Time An...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching writing in primary education: Classroom practice, time, teachers’ beliefs and skills.

Rietdijk

Weijen

Janssen

et al. 2018

Journal of Educational Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Hence, there are rising practices that promote feedback mechanisms, contextualized assessment tools, and learner autonomy through available technological tools. Feenstra (2014) investigated writing assessment methods anchored on analytical assessment and automated essay evaluation that can help establish the validity and reliability of teachers' assessments of students' writing performance. Meanwhile, Kalay and Büyükkarcı (2020) emphasize that secondary school teachers' writing assessment preferences suggest direct instruction methods, so they must require exposure to more relevant writing assessment training.…”

Section: 1background Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Practices of English Language Teachers in Assessing Junior High School Students’ Writing Performance

Tabernero

2024

IJLLS

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As English language teachers explore existing writing assessment approaches and strategies, it is, however, inevitable to encounter challenges in the different phases of writing assessment. The challenge is not confined alone to the development of writing assessment tools but more so to the establishment of fair and reliable results for writing performance. It has been argued that the gap between norms and traditions among language schools is one root of such a challenge. One writing assessment practice may work for one setting but not another. Therefore, the present study is intended to discover the writing assessment approaches and strategies employed by junior high school English language teachers in the context and to identify the relevant challenges they encountered in utilizing such writing assessment practices. To meet the research objective, a qualitative investigation through a narrative inquiry approach was employed. The data were gathered from seven (7) English language teachers in a junior high school in Bataan, Philippines. Self-made, semi-structured interview guides were utilized. The shared narratives from the interviews served as data subjected to thematic analysis. The research investigation revealed that English language teachers generally utilize scoring rubrics and an analytical approach to assess junior high school students’ writing performance. As a result, they have found challenges in assessing writing performance due to strict adherence to the components of scoring rubrics, time constraints, and the poor writing competencies of students. To address the issues, the study suggests writing assessment programs and training that promote contextualization, ICT integration, and learning autonomy. English language teachers value the importance of systematic writing assessment practices while also recognizing the roles of emerging practices that will establish not only fairness but also effectiveness that is responsive to the development of the English writing competencies of the students.

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“…Writing assessment research rarely occurs in primary grades (Philippakos & FitzPatrick, 2018), especially in kindergarten. Because teachers find it difficult to assess writing (Feenstra, 2014), writing difficulty often goes undiscovered (White, 2013). The classroom teacher has a critical role in identifying students who have difficulty responding to core instruction (Bondie et al, 2019).…”

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confidence: 99%

Development and Initial Validation of the Early Elementary Writing Rubric to Inform Instruction for Kindergarten and First-Grade Students

McKenna

Dedrick

Goldstein

2021

Assessment for Effective Intervention

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This article describes the development of the Early Elementary Writing Rubric ( EEWR), an analytic assessment designed to measure kindergarten and first-grade writing and inform educators’ instruction. Crocker and Algina’s (1986) approach to instrument development and validation was used as a guide to create and refine the writing measure. Study 1 describes the development of the 10-item measure (response scale ranges from 0 = Beginning of Kindergarten to 5 = End of First Grade). Educators participated in focus groups, expert panel review, cognitive interviews, and pretesting as part of the instrument development process. Study 2 evaluates measurement quality in terms of score reliability and validity. Data from writing samples produced by 634 students in kindergarten and first-grade classrooms were collected during pilot testing. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted to evaluate the psychometric properties of the EEWR. A one-factor model fit the data for all writing genres and all scoring elements were retained with loadings ranging from 0.49 to 0.92. Internal consistency reliability was high and ranged from .89 to .91. Interrater reliability between the researcher and participants varied from poor to good and means ranged from 52% to 72%. First-grade students received higher scores than kindergartners on all 10 scoring elements. The EEWR holds promise as an acceptable, useful, and psychometrically sound measure of early writing. Further iterative development is needed to fully investigate its ability to accurately identify the present level of student performance and to determine sensitivity to developmental and instruction gains.

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Assessing writing ability in primary education : on the evaluation of text quality and text complexity

Cited by 5 publications

References 61 publications

Teaching writing in primary education: Classroom practice, time, teachers’ beliefs and skills.

Teaching writing in primary education: Classroom practice, time, teachers’ beliefs and skills.

Practices of English Language Teachers in Assessing Junior High School Students’ Writing Performance

Development and Initial Validation of the Early Elementary Writing Rubric to Inform Instruction for Kindergarten and First-Grade Students

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