Do you have a state or district writing assessment just around the corner? Are you prepared? Are your students prepared? Hey, let’s not waste another second. Let’s get started! Wait a minute… is it too late? How much time do you have? Should you “teach to the test” or simply “teach writing?”

If it’s test time, then it’s also springtime. In springtime, we want to be harvesting the wonderful rewards from all our hard work. The truth is that it may not be so easy if we didn’t plant the seeds of writing success earlier in the year.

Steven Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, tells a story around the premise that if you want to harvest in the fall, you will need to plant in the spring, and have tended to the fields during the summer. (Of course, as teachers, we want to be planting in the fall and harvesting in the spring.)

Regardless of the time of year, be sure to check out Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay. I confess, the program is more of a real solution than it is a quick fix. However, more and more excited elementary and middle school teachers are discovering that they can get real writing improvement faster than they ever dreamed possible!

The program provides a foundation and a framework for student writing. It also provides a foundation and a framework for teaching students to write! The program does not teach to the test, but the results absolutely and positively show up at test time. Best of all, the program just makes sense to student! (And it’s kind of fun!)

The state writing assessment resources found on this page are designed to help teachers learn what kind of writing results they should be striving to achieve. The Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay program makes achieving those results quick and easy!

State Writing Assessment Resources: The Six Components

On the state-testing resource pages below, you will find:

1.  Released writing prompts

2.  Scoring rubrics

3.  Anchor papers and scoring commentary (a.k.a. Student writing samples!)

4.  Teacher guides and/or test directions

5.  State writing standards

6.  Released questions – multiple choice

Note: Students are tested on “writing skills” every single year on the state (multiple-choice) standardized test. Additionally, every few years, students are required to perform a writing task. This performance task is called the “State Writing Assessment.” Read more about this below.

If you were to become familiar with your state’s six components, you would be a writing assessment genius! You can probably find your own state’s writing assessment resources by doing a few simple Google searches. (Put your state’s name in front of each of these: state writing assessment, state testing page, state released items, state released tests, state testing resources.)

Wait! Don’t run off quite yet! Before you head off, you will want to read the rest of this page. For one thing, some of the very best writing assessment resources can be found right here on PatternBasedWriting.com . Check these out:

1) Student Writing Samples and Anchor Papers

2) Released Writing Prompts

3) State ELA Standards and State Writing Standards

4) Writing Prompt Structure and Keywords for State Writing Tests

The truth is that what your state provides may not be as valuable as what some other states provide. For example, the released writing prompts above are the best on the internet! You will find links to 114 pages of released writing prompts! Does your state’s testing page offer that? No. Additionally, the anchor papers and student writing samples above are also the best collection on the internet… guaranteed!

What follows are links to even more great collections of state writing assessment resources! But first…

Understanding State Writing Assessments: What is Tested? When is it Tested? How is it Tested?

Multiple Choice (Remember, students are tested on writing every single year on the multiple-choice test, but only have a “performance task” every few years.)

Multiple choice – many teachers forget about this aspect of writing instruction. Your state is likely to have an English language arts multiple-choice standardized test for every single grade above kindergarten. The English language arts are made up of reading, writing, listening, and speaking. I am not aware of speaking appearing on any standardized tests, but you can be sure that reading, writing, and listening will be on the test.

California has excellent examples of “multiple-choice writing skills” test questions for grades 2-11. Click here . The writing skills test questions are a part of the English-Language Arts section. At the end of each PDF file of released questions, there is a section that tells what ELA standard is being addressed in each question. As you can see below, writing strategies and written conventions are very important on state testing.

California’s English-Language Arts standardized tests have multiple-choice questions for:

• Word Analysis
• Reading Comprehension
• Literary Response and Analysis
• Writing Strategies
• Written Conventions

State Writing Assessment

Every few years students are tested using a performance-based writing assessment. Once again, students are tested every single year on writing skills through the multiple-choice section of the standardized test. However, it is only every few years that they are asked to perform a writing task.

Examples of Grade levels for State Writing Assessments:

• KY – Grades 5, 8, 12
• FL – FCAT Grades 4, 8, 10
• CA – STAR Grade 4, 7
• PA – Grade 5, 8, 11
• GA – Grade 3, 5, 8, 11
• VA – Grade 5, 8, EOC (End of Course English: Writing)
• NB – Grade 4, 8, 11
• TX – TAKS Grade 4, 7, 10
• TN – TCAP Grade 5, 8, 11

Grading state writing assessments is labor intensive and expensive. That’s why they only have them every few years.

Okay, now you have an overview of state writing assessments! Now here are some resources!

Resources for State Writing Assessments

Once again, you will probably want to find your own state’s resources for state testing. And once again, the resources found below may be more helpful that what your state provides. These are all excellent collections of state writing assessment resources – the best on the internet!

Note: I only list what I consider to be the most important resources found on the page. If you click around, you will probably find even more resources, but use your time wisely!

1. Arizona – AIMS Released prompts and student writing samples/anchor papers. (Grades 3-HS)

2. Tennessee – TCAP Writing Assessment – Released prompts and student writing samples/anchor papers. (Grades 5, 8, 11)

3. Michigan – MEAP Released prompts and student writing samples/anchor papers. (Grades 3-5, grades 6-8, grade 9)

4. California – CST Released language arts/writing (multiple choice) test questions. (Grades 2-11)

5. California – California Writing Standards Tests – Released prompts, anchor papers, scoring guide etc. (Grade 4 and grade 7) Be sure to click “Previous Years’ Writing Tests” for 2001-2007!

6. Common Core State Standards – 107 page PDF. Student writing samples and scoring commentary. (Grades K-12 – Narrative, argument, informative, expository etc.)

7. Georgia – Georgia Writing Assessments – Released writing prompts, sample papers etc. (Grade 3, 5, 8, & HS 2007-2009)

8. Kansas –  Rubrics, scoring guides, prompts, writing samples and more. (Grades 5, 8, HS)

9. Florida – 2011 FCAT Writing Anchor Sets – Click the “Archived FCAT Writing Anchor Sets” at the bottom of the page for 2008-2010! (Grades 4, 8, 10 – Expository, narrative, persuasive etc.)

10. Kentucky – KCCT Released prompts, anchor papers, scoring guide etc. Each PDF is about 40 pages of student writing, scoring, and rubrics! (Grades 5, 8, 12)

11. New York – Multiple choice – English Language Arts Sample Tests (Grades 3-8 )

12. Bakersfield, CA - Rubrics, scoring guides, prompts, writing samples and more. (Grades K-8 – Expository, narrative, persuasive etc. Nice! )

13. Pennsylvania – PSSA Multiple choice, rubrics, scoring guides, prompts, writing samples and more. The writing assessment section is found at the bottom of the page. (Grades 5, 8, 11) The reading section has the multiple choice.

14. Nebraska – Rubrics, scoring guides, prompts, writing samples and more. (Grades 4, 8, 11)

15. Texas – TAKS Writing Assessments – Rubrics, scoring guides, prompts, writing samples and more. (Grades 4, 7, 10, 11)

16. Washington – Student writing samples (exemplers) Nice! (Grades 4, 7, HS)

17. Virginia – Years 2000-2009. Click on a year and scroll to the “English” section. Includes reading and writing. (Grades 3-HS for reading and grades 5, 8, and HS for writing.)

Don’t forget, you won’t want to miss out on the resources found at the very top of this page. In particular, the “Released Writing Prompts” resource is amazing!

Ready for essay success!

You and your students have worked hard on writing all year… and now it’s time to make sure it gets all the credit it deserves. Sometimes mandated writing rubrics can have harsh consequences… because sometimes fantastic writing misses the mark when it comes to the rubric.

The goal here is to not only to improve overall writing skills but also to hit a bull’s-eye when it comes to the writing rubric. Almost all writing rubrics will contain the basic topics found here.

1. Address the writing prompt and stay on target:
• How on target is the writing? What is being asked for in the prompt?
• Do the titles for your students’ essays contain any words from the writing prompt?
• Are the words used in the writing prompt sprinkled throughout the essay?
• How can the writing be on target if students don’t use any of the words from the writing prompt in either the title or the essay?

2. Make sure students have an understanding of big picture essay structure and organization. Their essay needs to demonstrate a clear beginning, middle and ending. Students need to have an understanding of how paragraphs flow throughout an essay:
• Introduction – Idea 1 – Idea 2 – Idea 3 – Conclusion
• Introduction – First – Then – Finally – Conclusion
• Introduction – Cause – Effect – Conclusion 
• Introduction – Cause/Effect #1 – Cause/Effect #2 – Conclusion 
• Introduction – Cause #1 – Effect #1 – Cause #2 – Effect #2 – Conclusion
• Introduction – Problem – Solution – Conclusion  (See Cause/Effect for more variations)
• Introduction – Similarities – Differences – Conclusion  (See Cause/Effect for more variations)
• Once Upon a Time – Rising Action – Rising Action – Climax – and They (or I) Lived Happily Ever After

3. Plan, Write, and Revise – Students must allow at least a little time for each of these. Cover the concept of breaking up their allowed time. (Plan 15% Write 70% Revise 15%) If students don’t spend at least a little time in each area, it’s unlikely their writing will be as good as it can be.

4. Sentence Varity – A simple way to bring about sentence variety is to focus on how sentences start. It’s amazing how quickly these simple and fun sentence starting patterns can transform student writing. Kids like them. They bring a lot of rhythm, flow, and beauty to language… without a lot of rules. 

Nine Fun Ways to Start Sentences
1. -ly Beginnings - Surprisingly, my parents liked the clubhouse I had built in our backyard.
2.  Prepositional Phrase Beginnings – Beyond the moon, laid infinite possibilities for exploration.
3. Two Adverb Beginnings - Fast and furious, the little mouse scurried towards the cake.
4. Two Adjective Beginnings-  Beautiful and elegant, the princess bride descended the stairs.
5. -ing Beginnings - Falling down the garbage chute, Billy started to wonder if he had made a wise decision.
6. -ing in the Middle - I brought my secret stash of money to the fair, hoping no one would stop me from spending every last cent of it.
7. Balanced Sentence Structure (Items in a series/ Parallel structure) – Eating ice-cream, watching TV, and wrestling tigers may be fun… but they are not healthy activities.
 8. Appositives (Insert information or explanation) – Shark Cove, the place where all the sharks hang out, is not a place I like to go swimming.
9. Dependent Clauses – After the storm had ended, the sun began to break through the cloudy gloom.

5. Don’t Mix First Person and Third Person – The way students begin their writing is the way they will need to finish their writing. It’s best if students make a conscious choice right at the beginning of their essay. However, this is often doesn’t happen.  Late in the essay process, it’s often better if students simply focus on how they began their essay and continue forward using that same point of view.
Example::: 
Student started with third person:
• “More and more people are developing a deep concern for protecting the environment.”
• “The government has started to enforce stricter environmental laws.”
Student wants to switch to first person:
• “I feel it is a person’s duty to help protect the environment.”
• “Everyone in my family recycles.”
Student should continue with third person:
• “Many people feel it is a person’s duty to help protect the environment.”
• “Studies show that more and more families are recycling.”

6. More Random Tips:
• Make sure the introduction contains a clear thesis statement. A thesis statement is a clear, explicit statement defining the purpose of the essay.
• Along with a clear thesis… see if you can also have a clear “hook.” (Curiosity, pose a question, pose a challenge, or pose a problem.)  
• Have specific transitions between paragraphs. It’s best if there is some variety in the transitions.
• Students should demonstrate that they know who their audience is. Language, vocabulary, and tone all reveal who the author is talking to.
• Demonstrate purpose. Using the words “persuade” and “inform” can be a bit obvious, but they are effective. Have students consider all the possible synonyms they can use to be secretly effective. (Convince, facts, knowledge, information, data, report, statistics…) 
• Give relevant supporting details. What’s relevant? Give value with every detail. Eliminate everything that does not give value.
• Details support, prove, clarify, explain, and give information about the topic sentences. If all else fails… focus on “prove it.” For centuries kids have said “prove it.” Having to prove something makes sense to them. “I had fun at the park.” Prove it. “Okay. I went with my best friend. We played soccer. My mom made a great picnic. I REST MY CASE.” 
• Do not make the details sound like a list.
• Have the conclusion readdress the prompt and more explicitly state the thesis.
• Uses Standard English grammar, mechanics, and sentence structure. Use formal language. Students are not talking to their buddy out on the playground.
• Don’t repeat ideas and sentences. Each sentence communicates a unique idea.
• Don’t generalize. Compare “Peace would be good.” Vs. “Elimination of all war, hatred, and intolerance would be fantastic.”
• Have paragraphs end with a conclusion sentence. Beginning, middle ending… beginning, middle…
• Don’t add new information in the conclusion.
• Every sentence should either be “simple and concise” or “a work of art.” Alternate between these two types of sentences.  
• Write neat!