In my last post, I addressed answers to the following questions: How can we help students perform well on writing assessments? What is the relationship between our classroom instruction and writing assessments?   This month, I will discuss connections between writing assessment and writing instruction.

The Montana University System—Writing Assessment (MUS-WA) was a 12-year, voluntary statewide professional development project that assessed the writing proficiency of 11^th grade students’ persuasive writing. From 2001 through 2012, MUS-WA invited all high schools to participate and asked English teachers to administer the persuasive prompts during the normal class period. Montana English teachers created and field tested writing prompts to ensure all prompts were fair, accessible, and appropriate for Montana students. Any educator interested in writing assessment was welcome to attend the free-of-charge, two-day MUS-WA scoring workshops held across the state. At these workshops, scorers included elementary, secondary, and college teachers of English; history, science, EFL, and journalism teachers; librarians, guidance counselors, and principals; and pre-service educators, substitute teachers, and paraprofessionals.

Scorers:

• Learned how to apply the holistic rubric accurately, reliably, and efficiently to students’ persuasive essays. Scorers

• Use a Montana Holistic Scoring Rubric, created by MUS-WA literacy leaders and based on Montana’s graduation standards.

As a MUS-WA leader, I lead discussions with the scorers to:

• Emphasize the connection between writing assessment and writing instruction

• Encourage. discussion of best practices for teaching persuasive writing and methods of using the holistic rubric with our students

• Described the strategies we used to help students revise their persuasive writing in different content areas.

Evidence based on the 12 years of MUS-WA showed major positive changes in students writing scores and improvement in classroom writing instruction. Through this professional development project, MUS-WA included experienced and novice educators from all levels of education, which led to increased understanding, respect, and communication about writing instruction and assessment. In addition to the improved scores on the writing assessment, MUS-WA was successful because educators reported higher engagement, commitment, and agency as literacy leaders in their schools and communities.

At the end of my presentation at the English Teachers’ Association, the language arts educators expressed their appreciation for the power of professional development to connect writing instruction with assessment. We discussed models of professional development that empower educators and improve student learning. Participating in this international conference was one of the highlights of my year. I am inspired by the commitment of literacy educators here in the US and around the world. Together, we are making a positive difference for all students.