Writing Benchmarks for Middle School

[Gil]

How do you assess a middle graders written output? Do you have a set of rubrics per type of writing that you use?

I'd like to determine if either of The Boys would benefit from a formal writing program of some kind.

[Soror]

nt

Edited September 16, 2019 by soror

[Farrar]

I generally focus on growth over specific benchmarks. However, I do think that by the end of middle school, a student without specific learning challenges should be able to...

* write sentences with a variety of structures - as in, be able to vary one's structures so that not every sentence reads exactly the same way
* use at least some transitions appropriately in writing (so that writing has a flow to it and arguments or information follows)
* write with mostly correct grammar and with mechanics that doesn't need correction for absolutely every sentence
* write an organized paragraph
* understand how to vary voice for different assignments (say, write differently for a newspaper style article vs. a short story vs. a letter vs. a persuasive essay, etc.)
* tackle an organized paper or longer assignment with help (or solo! but having external support is still okay for a baseline throughout middle school, in my opinion)

I like rubrics that are very specific checklists. I'm less keen on rubrics that try to sum up everything in a single description. Sometimes a student writes an excellent paper that needs major mechanics help. That's not a "5" or an "A" - it's just not on the page. A checklist helps isolate specific issues.

I've taught writing in schools and one on one. To me, some of this stuff is easy... but I've learned through conversations here that it's not apparent to everyone, anymore than teaching high school physics or pre-calculus (which I managed to drag myself through as a student, and which many STEM-y people here seem to think is a breeze) is apparent to me. I think if you have a good sense of decent writing, you just help a student by giving them assignments and slowly pushing them toward improvement by doing revision in various ways. A program for writing is really only as good as the teacher because I firmly believe that feedback is the cornerstone for writing improvement. The program gives you context in which to provide that feedback - plus it makes it easier because you don't have to come up with the lessons and the assignments to cover a variety of skills. However, in the end, a rubric only does so much for a student. 

[Gil]

On 9/16/2019 at 1:13 PM, Farrar said:

I generally focus on growth over specific benchmarks. However, I do think that by the end of middle school, a student without specific learning challenges should be able to...

* write sentences with a variety of structures - as in, be able to vary one's structures so that not every sentence reads exactly the same way
* use at least some transitions appropriately in writing (so that writing has a flow to it and arguments or information follows)
* write with mostly correct grammar and with mechanics that doesn't need correction for absolutely every sentence
* write an organized paragraph
* understand how to vary voice for different assignments (say, write differently for a newspaper style article vs. a short story vs. a letter vs. a persuasive essay, etc.)
* tackle an organized paper or longer assignment with help (or solo! but having external support is still okay for a baseline throughout middle school, in my opinion)

So here's my quandary. I've gone back over some of their papers and they have been doing these things 1.5 -2 years. I don't know if I see a decent amount of growth between about 2 years ago and now.

Is there some standardized "test" or "assessment" I can give them specifically to measure their writing skills?

[Farrar]

48 minutes ago, Gil said:

So here's my quandary. I've gone back over some of their papers and they have been doing these things 1.5 -2 years. I don't know if I see a decent amount of growth between about 2 years ago and now.

Is there some standardized "test" or "assessment" I can give them specifically to measure their writing skills?

There are such things, but I think you're going to find that they're not especially helpful. For example, here's the Common Core writing standards for grade 6:
http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/W/6/

It tells you things, but without the context of having seen a lot of grade 6 writing, I think you're just swimming through random words trying to make sense of what "maintain a formal style" or "use precise words and phrases" even means when applied to a 6th grader. Honestly, just looking at that list, it sounds like 6th graders should be able to write New Yorker articles at this stage. But realistically, no one expects them to - not even Common Core adherents. Moreover, a lot of us would argue that the CC writing standards are on some different planet from many kids. Some of them are so general as to be too easy when applied in the classroom, though they do look intimidating. Others are too hard for the majority of kids to reliably achieve without support.

You may be able to have them take a writing test. Schools give various ones, generally on the state level, but many school systems allow you to access state testing. The standardized tests homeschoolers administer at home don't generally have writing other than multiple choice assessments of grammar, mechanics, and style. But these tests aren't going to be that illuminating for you.

I would say post some of their writing here (with the context of the assignment) and get some different viewpoints.

Also, if this is something you feel really unsure about, enroll them in an online course for a semester or so and see what feedback they get from an instructor. That will give you a sense of what you might work on.

Overall though, they're in 6th grade. If they can sit down and write a sentence or two without any help, that's readable and understandable, even if there are some mechanics errors, you don't need to worry overmuch. And if they can write a whole paragraph that makes sense, then they're FINE. Just work on seeing progress.

[Coco_Clark]

In the case of my 6th graders, they both mastered basic organization and mechanics in 4th/5th grade.  They can churn out a 1-2 page narrative either fictional or non fictional that is clear and complete.

So for middle school my goals will focus more around style (varied sentences, interesting/precise word choice, ect) and the forming and relating of opinions (don't just retell the information, but build off it).  Basically transitioning from narratives to essays.  I'd also like to master research reports using several sources by the end of middle school.