Norming+Meetings

= Norming Meetings: = = On-Demand Assessments Study =


 * Materials: **
 * Student on-demand assessment writing samples, by grade level (copied)
 * Writing progressions for genre
 * Writing rubric for grade(s)
 * Norming Directions: **
 * Step 1: Assess one child's writing using the rubric, working as a group. **
 * Pass out copies of student work sample (roughly at grade level or grade level sample)
 * Review main features of rubric (categories, double point sections, etc.)
 * Study benchmark student writing samples.
 * Inch through text, working as a group to read an item on the rubric, and examine writing sample for evidence. Discuss group's judgments and designations regarding levels of proficiency on the grade level rubric.
 * Come to consensus through discussion (a 1/2 point either way is an acceptable disagreement)
 * After 10 minutes, move to next writing sample (put aside writing sample as a "fence sitter" if consensus is not achieved).


 * Step 2: Score other pieces of writing individually, then come to a consensus as a group. **
 * Choose a second text (approximately grade level).
 * Work independently to annotate and score the text.
 * Then, talk in your small group to see if a consensus emerges.
 * Chart each of the group members' scores on a combined rubric.
 * Look across the recorded scores to see if consensus has occurred. If not, the group can talk together to try to achieve a consensus.
 * Repeat this process for a minimum of 4 more student samples.
 * Once group comes to consensus on a total of 5 student samples, the group is "normed".

(Remember....no one piece will receive all Level 1, 2, 3, etc. scores. For a piece to be at a particular level, you add up all the scores and use the key at the end of the rubric. The total sum of points is considered to determine level).


 * Step 3: Assess your own students' writing individually. **
 * Begin scoring your individual students' assessments.
 * Skim through your students' work, dividing them quickly, into categories ranging from low, medium, high.
 * Score the assessments one pile at a time.


 * Step 4: Devise a plan for analyzing on-demand writing across each grade. **
 * Work with your school grade level teams and support each other as you continue scoring all student assessments.
 * Share your different areas of expertise throughout the process.

Keep in mind...
 * do not let bad handwriting or a lack of paragraphs skew your rating of the students' work.
 * a scaled score of 3 is the target or grade level expectation for students--__by the END of the unit of study.__
 * students who receive a scaled score of 2 are ready for the grade level writing instruction.
 * students who receive a scaled score of 1 may need additional instruction in small groups to achieve proficiency with grade level writing skills.

(//Taken from __Units of Study in Opinion, Information, and Narrative Writing: A Common Core Writing Workshop Curriculum__, Calkins, et. al, 2013).//