Discussion Summary
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Back to REEP Writing Rubric
Suzanne Grant and Pat Thurston, REEP writing assessment Master Trainers at the Arlington Education and Employment Program, led the discussion. The discussion opened with an endorsement of the REEP Writing process and rubric as a writing assessment that codifies students’ writing gains. Suzanne and Pat described the development of the writing process and rubric, as well as background on the funding for the project. They noted that the funding enabled the REEP Writing Rubric, a performance-based assessment, to be standardized. Suzanne and Pat asked participants what writing traits they felt were most important to include in a rubric, and requested feedback in particular on the trait of Voice, which is designed to measure a writer's engagement with a particular topic.
Much discussion ensued regarding measuring voice in writing, with both pros and cons cited. A couple of examples of voice were provided so that participants could more easily understand the trait.
It was noted that the CASAS assessment also includes a writing rubric, and that the CASAS rubric is used to assess both ABE and ESOL students, while the REEP rubric is used to assess ESOL students only. Suzanne and Pat noted that unlike the CASAS rubric, the REEP rubric was developed based on hundreds of writing samples by REEP students to describe what they could do in writing. They also noted that the writing topic was important in terms of lending itself or not to bringing out voice in writing. It appears that the REEP rubric is appropriate for assessing native English speakers’ writing according to a study comparing the REEP and CASAS rubrics (reference provided).
Suzanne and Pat provided more examples of voice in writing to further clarify what is meant by this trait. Sub-topics included (U.S.) National Reporting System (NRS) requirements for writing, and REEP as a good instructional tool. The discussion concluded with a focus on developing writing prompts and using pre-writing activities.
