Ch. 10 - Make Assessment Count

Perhaps the single most important sentence in this chapter is found on p. 244: "Remember, the whole is more than the sum of its parts." I love how this speaks to over-reliance on rubrics or state assessments or focus on six-trait writing or other skills in isolation. Rubrics are not a bad thing, and I liked the simple, grade appropriate ones featured in the text, and I think I can use the one at Appendix I this year in my room this fall. The problem arises when we distract ourselves and our students with so much focus on rubrics and the individual aspects of writing that they measure that we lose sight of the big picture: the communication between the writer and the reader. Was the writer's message conveyed in a clear, imaginative, interesting way? Did the writer's words create a vivid picture in the reader's mind?

Another important point in this chapter was that standardized tests are about accountability, and do not provide useful information for teaching. Their focus on what is wrong or lacking is discouraging for students, and teachers need assessment to help them help students grow and progress.

On page 242, Routman clarifies the difference between reliability, or consistency, in application of a rubric or other assessment, and validity, or whether the rubric scores are measuring what matters. I think this is an important distinction to keep in mind. To paraphrase Routman, writing is a complex process, and no rubric captures the full range of what writers actually do!

Routman also states that most of what students write does not need to be graded. She says teachers spend way too much time grading and doing things just to take a grade. Students need freedom to write without fear as they get experience and become comfortable with the process, learning to "flow" and gaining the skills to evaluate their own work as they write.

Finally, I agree with Routman's assertion that excellent teaching is far better test preparation than focusing on separate skills and browbeating our kids with practice tests.