Developing a writing assessment method generally begins with the same question: What do you want your students to do?

In a literal sense, what actions will students do to complete the assignment? In the more abstract sense, what behaviors and habits do you want students to positively engage in as they work towards the production of an assigned material product and participate in the composing process?

 

What’s your rubric?

Assessment begins then at the level of the rubric. One-size-fits-all rubrics generally neither achieve the right purposes nor set the right tones for assignments. Instead, try creating rubrics tailored to teach assignment, including how you want the assignment to incorporate what skills students have been introduced to so far in the course and how you want students to work toward producing it. Try to keep an open mind with what your students will produce. Avoid using rubrics to articulate preconditioned visions of the final product.

 

What’s your method?

Qualitative, contract, portfolio, and more: It’s important to be aware of when language in your rubric is especially quality-oriented (“value” assessment) versus when it oriented in fulfilling agreed-upon labor input and practices (“contract” assessment). Additionally, some instructors save some larger, narrative forms of feedback for an end-of-semester portfolio, while others provide intermittent feedback throughout the semester. Each instructor develops their own philosophy and balance between these assessment approaches, sometimes favoring one strongly over the other.

 

How does your rubric communicate with your students?

Rubric language that rephrases assignments to place priority on the actual labor required helps students to break down the writing process and understand how their efforts will be recognized. Ultimately,  how can we reward students who show great improvement through the semester by putting in the work, versus only students who coast on pre-existing aptitudes?

 

Create a scaffolding.

Match the rubric to a “scaffolding” of lessons you’re giving students leading up to the assignment deadline. The closer the match between the behaviors and skills you’re teaching in the classroom and their assessment, the more positive learning outcomes you’re likely to see—and trust you’re likely to build with your students.

 

Try student-generated rubrics.

And consider allowing students to participate in the creation of rubrics and have agency in deciding what tasks and outcomes are essential to the assignment.

 

Require revisions.

Revision procedures can range from the ability to resubmit a paper for a higher grade, to using entirely different rubrics (or even tweaked prompts) between drafts. Some instructors also use a points model that allow students to continue to resubmit assignments until the end of the semester.

 

Engage with students’ ideas.

When you are commenting on students’ assignments, remember that your primary responsibility as their instructor is to demonstrate that you are actively engaged in their writing, want to understand it, and want to work with them—not to serve as a proofreader who marks errors or a harsh critic who really wants students to understand how wrong they are (there are however—especially in sexist, racist, homophobic/transphobic, or otherwise hateful language—occasions for strongly worded written and verbal feedback). How can you strike a tone with your students that demonstrate to them that you want to help them reach goals that you and they want?

 

Explain yourself.

Finally, in the case of any assessment method, you should make an attempt to explain to your students why they received the grade they received on each assignment. “Holistic grades” that simplify feedback to single letters do not help our students understand the writing process or your own expectations for the course.