ED344900 TM018201
Title: Writing Portfolios at the Elementary Level: A Study of Methods
for Writing Assessment.
Author(s): Gearhart, Maryl; And Others
Author Affiliation: Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards,
and Student Testing, Los Angeles, CA.(BBB25810)
Pages: 57
Publication Date: 1992
Sponsoring Agency: Apple Computer, Inc., Cupertino, CA. (BBB19986)@Office
of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC. (EDD00036)
Contract No: OERI-R117G10027
Report No: CSE-TR-337
Available from: EDRS Price MF01/PC03 Plus Postage.
Language: English
Document Type: Reports--Evaluative (142)
Geographic Source: U.S.; California
Journal Announcement: RIESEP1992
Portfolio
assessment was investigated as a method of evaluating elementary
school students' competence in writing. The study comprised an empirical
study of the utility and meaningfulness of using a holistic/analytic
scoring rubric to score students' portfolios and a qualitative analysis
of scoring approaches drawing on raters' critiques of the analytic
scoring method. The site was an elementary school participating
in the Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow project. Portfolios were composed
of a working file and a smaller showcase file of students' best
pieces (student-selected). The scoring rubric was a well-validated
system with subscales reflecting key aspects of competent writing.
Interrater agreement was determined for three raters evaluating
standard writing assessments, students' portfolios, and classroom
work in sets of writing unidentified by student for grades 1, 3,
and 4. Thirty-five portfolios were evaluated. Results demonstrate
that holistic rating of class work and portfolio collections can
achieve high interrater agreement and can discriminate among grade
levels and genre differences. Findings also demonstrate the complexity
of developing large-scale portfolio assessments. The paper includes
16 tables of study data and a 15-item list of references. An appendix
contains writing assignment directions. (SLD)
Descriptors: Elementary Education; *Elementary School Students;
*Evaluation Methods; Grade 1; Grade 3; Grade 4; *Holistic Evaluation;
Intermediate Grades; Interrater Reliability; *Portfolios (Background
Materials); Qualitative Research; *Scoring; Test Construction; Writing
(Composition); *Writing Evaluation
Identifiers: Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow; Empirical Research; Large
Scale Programs
