ABSTRACT

Most often, teachers choose from among the evaluation options and design their own systems using a combination of techniques. For example, it is possible to begin with primary-trait grading and gradually add traits until, by the end of the year, the teacher has arrived at a criterion-referenced approach. Or it is possible to use student-generated rubrics from which the teacher grades or teacher-generated rubrics from which the students evaluate each other’s work. Or a contract may specify particular inclusions in an end-of-the-year portfolio. A rubric may be created from anchor papers. A group of portfolios may be graded using a “cluster” holistic method (one stack of excellent portfolios, a second stack of weak portfolios, a third stack of in-between portfolios, and so forth). Anchor portfolios can be created at a particular grade level, or a checklist may dictate the entries in a portfolio. The evaluation choices teachers have seem infinite, just as instructional contexts seem infinite. An important exception to instructional and evaluative choices is state-mandated writing standards and assessments.