ABSTRACT
School tests, as well as job-related writing, usually call for more structured writing——writing whose purpose is to inform. The Better Answer protocol leads students toward stand-alone, meaningful responses. Teachers and students find the Better Answer Sandwich a very effective tool——a reliable crutch that makes an abstract process more concrete. The middle section of the sandwich holds a body of details that support the gist answer. Many states now offer response examples from various levels of expertise, and these can be used for classroom demonstration purposes. The primary reason for the preassessment is to validate growth once the results of the post-test are in.
