Performance-Based
Assessment – Focus on
Presentational Writing
August 18,19,& 20, 2008
Workshop
Goals for the Workshop
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Gain knowledge and understanding of
performance based assessment (PBA) for
Presentational Writing & Interpretive Reading
Analyze and distinguish effective & ratable
PBAs from less effective and unratable PBAs
Apply workshop concepts to develop effective
performance-based assessment tasks,
prompts, and associated scoring rubrics
3 Day Progression…
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Day 1: Interactive Input
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Day 2: Guided Practice
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Day 3: Independent, (but
collaborative) Practice
Why?
“Ultimately, we want students to grow to be
independent. For them to do that, they have
to have a sense of what the criteria (are) that
make them successful. For a long time, the
criteria (have) been a mystery to students…”
R.J. Tierney, M. Carter, & L. Desai
Portfolio Assessment in Reading-Writing Classroom
Student assessment should be grounded in the
authentic, real-life activities that are carried
out in the classroom. Because effective
language learning is meaningful, enjoyable,
and interactive, assessment should reflect a
similar focus… Students engaged in this
process become more and more actively
involved in their learning.
(Armstrong, 1998, p. 233)
“Writing well is one of the greatest
intellectual challenges; no wonder it is
difficult to teach students to write
meaningfully, coherently, persuasively in
a foreign language.”
Marva Barnett, University of Virginia
Secondary Goals
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Value of teaching writing as a process
Various ways to develop students’
writing skills (including peer editing)
Research connections to ODE
graduation standards
What is Performance-Based
Assessment (PBA)?
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Monitors students’ progress in relationship to
learner outcomes
Requires students to create answers or
products/presentations/performances
demonstrating their knowledge and skills
applicable for real-life based purposes
Differs widely from traditional testing (single
answer or fill in the blank).
PBA - Some Key Points
It takes time to develop, implement,
refine, and get to that “comfort” zone
in using PBA

BUT THE PAY OFF IS
TREMENDOUS!
Key Point #1
Instructional design and decisions should
start with assessment

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What do we want students to learn?
How will we know when they have learned it?
How will I use the results?
Key Point #2
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Students should know the criteria
and what’s expected UP FRONT.
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Performance-based task(s)
Scoring Guides (rubrics)
Exemplars of “excellent” work
Key Point #3

Practice, practice, practice…
improves performance!

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Research supports the notion that all
students (especially low achievers)
will improve when given multiple
opportunities to practice
When students feel “successful &
hopeful” their motivation &
performance increase
Key point #4 - Knowing the
targets, feedback, & reflection
“…when student are informed about the learning targets
from the beginning, engage in self-assessment, keep
track of and regularly reflect on their own growth, and
play a role in communicating their learning – the
achievement gains are profound, especially for low
achievers.” Rick Sitggins, ETS
Function Frameworks &
LinguaFolios
Major Key Point #5

Curriculum-embedded
performance and “on demand”
performance are not equal…
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Students tend to perform higher in
classroom activities, then they do when
assessment is “on demand”
WYSI (not) WYG
Key Point #6
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Instruction and assessment should be
congruent.

Proficiency-oriented instruction should be
matched with proficiency-based
assessment
Key Point #7

Student Involvement: A sound
assessment system involves
students in self-assessment,
recording keeping, and/or
communication.
Course Goals
Essential Learnings
State & District
Standards
National
Standards
Function
Frameworks
ODE Essential Skills Requirements for
the Graduating Class of 2012
In accordance with OAR 581-22-0615
Assessment of Essential Skills, the graduating
class of 2012 will be required to demonstrate
proficiency in the following Essential Skills in
order to receive a high school diploma:
• Read and comprehend a variety of texts
• Write clearly and accurately
• Speak clearly and coherently
• Apply mathematics in a variety of settings
Writing Work Samples
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Expository
Persuasive
Narrative
Definition:
b. “Essential Skills” means process skills that
cross academic disciplines and are embedded
in the content standards. The skills are not
content specific and can be applied in a variety
of courses, subjects, and settings.
Characteristics of Effective PBA Tasks
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Students are active participants
Intended outcomes are clearly identified
& guide the design of the performance
task
Students are expected to demonstrate
mastery of those intended outcomes
when completing the task
Improving Test Scores

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Becoming a better Reader & Writer in a
world language results in improved
standardized test scores in English.
Research has shown that the skills you
develop in the second language are
transferred to skills in the first language.
Some Issues to Think About
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Developing a series of PBA writing
tasks & prompts (also for speaking)
Producing ratable student work samples
(on-demand vs. edited)
Getting all teachers on the same page
Inter-rater reliability in scoring student
work samples
Writing As A Process
Essential Question:
Why do we need to teach a Writing
Process? How can it help students?
Writing as a Process - Article
1)Form into 6 groups of 3 to 4 each
2) Read the Section for your group
• Read independently, highlighting key
phrases
• Conduct a table discussion and come
up with at least 3 to 4 key points from
your section for sharing
• Share out
Writing process
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Invention
Collection
Organization
Drafting
Revising
Proofreading
Invention: coming up with your
topic

Brainstorming:

Getting your ideas on
paper so you can
give yourself the
widest range of
topics possible
Brainstorming: coming up with
ideas that interest you
Listing:
Brainstorming
Paper Topics
Political apathy
Animal abuse
NFL instant replay
Air pollution
Telemarketing scams
Internet censorship
NBA salary caps
Clustering: mapping out ideas
sportsmanship
NBA
salary
caps
ME
animal
abuse
three-party
system
Flag
Burning
Amendment
political
apathy
First
Amendment
Internet censorship
NFL instant
replay
telemarketing
scams
Collection
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Gathering ideas
Locating and
evaluating
research
Conducting
interviews
Organizing: putting
information in an outline
OUTLINE
I. Introduction
A. Grab attention
B. State thesis
II. Body
A. Build points
B. Develop ideas
C. Support main claim
III. Conclusion
A. Reemphasize main
idea
Drafting
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Give yourself ample
time to work on your
project.
Find a comfortable
place to do your
writing.
Avoid distractions.
Take breaks.
Revising: reviewing ideas
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Review higher-order
concerns:
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Clear communication of
ideas
Organization of paper
Paragraph structure
Strong introduction and
conclusion
Proofreading
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Review laterorder concerns:
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Spelling
Punctuation
Sentence
structure
Documentation
style
Proofreading tips
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Slowly read your paper
aloud.
Read your paper
backwards.
Exchange papers with a
friend.
NOTE: Spell check will not
catch everything, and
grammar checks are often
wrong!