ABSTRACT
Security issues in large-scale and classroom assessment abound regardless of the format of the items. While writing assessments share some of the same security issues as other forms of assessments that consist of multiple-choice items and constructed-response items, the unique characteristics of writing assessments lend themselves to security issues that are distinct, including issues related to plagiarism. For the purpose of this chapter, the term writing assessment refers to assessments that consist of stand-alone writing prompts or text-based writing prompts. Stand-alone writing prompts require students to produce a written response to a given brief topic or prompt. Textbased writing prompts reflect the reading and writing connection, in that students are asked to read about a topic from one or more sources, analyze it from a particular perspective, and then write a response (Nelson & Calfee, 1998). It has been argued that text-based writing assessments are more aligned to the writing that occurs in most classrooms in grades 6 through 12 and higher education as well as in the workplace. An example of a writing assessment that includes both stand-alone and text-based writing prompts is the Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP; Delaware Department of Education, 2000). A text-based writing task in the Delaware state assessment is linked to a passage in the reading assessment, and student responses to the task are scored twice, once for reading and once for writing. Here is an example of an 8th grade text-based writing prompt from the DSTP:
The article you have just read describes some problems and possible solutions for dealing with grease. Do you think grease should be classified or labeled as a pollutant?
Write a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency explaining whether or not grease should be classified as a pollutant. Use information from this article to support your position.
(Delaware Department of Education, 2005: 5)