Simple ways to assess the writing skills of students with learning disabilities

Figure 1. Using a five-step conceptual model for student and teacher observation of the writing process

POWER Looking at How I Write
My Comments			Teacher Comments
Plan
I chose a good topic	Yes	No
I read about my topic	Yes	No
I thought about what the readers will want to know	Yes	No
I wrote down all my ideas on a "think sheet"	Yes	No
Organize
I put similar ideas together	Yes	No
I chose the best ideas for my composition	Yes	No
I numbered my ideas in logical order	Yes	No
Write
I wrote down my ideas in sentences	Yes	No
When I needed help I… ____did the best I could ____looked in a book ____asked my partner ____asked the teacher
Edit
I read my first draft to myself	Yes	No
I marked the parts I like	Yes	No
I marked the parts I might want to change	Yes	No
I read my first draft to my partner	Yes	No
I listened to my partner's suggestions	Yes	No
Rewrite
I made changes to my composition	Yes	No
I edited for correctness	Yes	No
I wrote the final draft in my best writing	Yes	No

Simple ways to assess the product

An effective writing process should lead to a successful product. A writing product fulfills its communicative intent if it is of appropriate length, is logical and coherent, and has a readable format. It is a pleasure to read if it is composed of well-constructed sentences and a rich variety of words that clearly convey the author's meaning. When various conceptual models of writing are compared side by side (Isaacson, 1984) five product variables seem to emerge: fluency, content, conventions, syntax, and vocabulary. Too often teachers focus their attention primarily on surface features of a student's composition related to the mechanical aspects of writing, or conventions. A balanced assessment should look at all five aspects of a student's writing. The following are simple methods for assessing each product variable. In some instances quantifiable measures are used; in others, qualitative assessments seem more appropriate.

Fluency

The first writing skill a teacher might assess with a beginning writer is fluency: being able to translate one's thoughts into written words. As concepts of print and fine motor skills develop, the student should become more proficient at writing down words and sentences into compositions of gradually increasing length. The developmental route of very young writers involves trying to understand what written language is about as they look at books, become aware of environmental print, and put pencil to paper (Clay, 1982). Then children try to relate their experiences in writing using invented spelling. As they begin to construct little stories they explore spelling patterns and develop new language patterns. Clay (1979, 1993) recommends a simple rating scale for emerging writing skills that focuses on language level (from only letters to sentences and paragraphs), message quality, and directional principles (Figure 2).