ABSTRACT
The goal of writing is to communicate a worthwhile idea clearly to meet the needs of the writer's intended audience. The ability to express oneself in writing is essential for success in all subject areas and throughout life. Writing is how students “connect the dots” in their understandings, how they make their own thinking visible to themselves and others. Mastery of writing is a lifelong pursuit. Summative assessments in writing evaluate the written product against a set of criteria for a given level that students on a grade level are expected to achieve. Formative assessments in writing are supposed to give students encouragement about their successes as well as a small number of accessible goals for the next attempt. Key words in the previous sentence are small number and accessible goals.
