Ok, so maybe some of my resentment has to do with how useless the test is for my daughter. Yesterday's test was the Language Arts Composition portion of the MCAS. Apparently, she was asked to write about a time that a) her teacher asked her to do something, b) she went on a field trip with her class, or c) she did something nice for her teacher. Now, I could be wrong because I didn't actually see the questions, but those are the options she told me about. What is the big deal? She doesn't have a teacher! Nor has she for the past 3 years! Everyone in this session of MCAS testing is homeschooled!
Now, she chose to write about a time she went on a field trip, I guess with me... The next part is where most of my anger comes in. She told me she wrote only about five sentences! So, do I direct my anger toward her or toward the test? Well, initially, my anger / frustration was toward her. How could she only write five sentences?
Just the day before we had completed a five-paragraph research paper she has been working on for weeks. She wrote three body paragraphs, prompted by the outline she had completed. Then, she wrote an introduction and conclusion. Consulting a dictionary, we found synonyms for the word "help," which appeared nine times in her essay. After modifying some of her sentences for clarity, and correcting spelling mistakes, we were ready to submit her writing sample to her 'teacher.' (Yeah, don't get me started on my resentment about being called her "Learning Coach").
So, she knew all the steps for writing an expository essay (not that she knows what it is called), and yet she wrote only five sentences. I was annoyed that I drove an hour to get there, sat around for 5 hours, and then had to drive an hour home, all for five sentences!
I decided to just accept what she wrote. Can't go back in time and change it. So, I went on the Massachusetts website to see how the Composition section of the MCAS is scored. Lo and behold, they have samples of previous years' questions. Here is the one I found closest to what she told me: "Think about a time you were helpful. For example, maybe you helped a new student feel comfortable in school, helped a teacher with a job in the classroom, helped with a project in your neighborhood or school, or helped to care for an animal. Write a story about a time you were helpful. Give enough details for readers to understand how you were helpful."
Now, maybe it's just me, but I can see how a child would only write 5 sentences! It doesn't say to write an outline, then write your first draft, making sure to include an introduction, body, and conclusion. However, when I read the scoring, it becomes apparent that is what they want. Do they really expect a 4th grader (which is typically a 9- or 10-year-old) to understand from those directions that they are to write a full essay in the proper format? I can't even get my college students to write out a full essay without laying out exactly what I want in a grading rubric...
Below, I posted the "Scoring Guidelines" I found on their site for this portion of the test. (Yes, I know the total possible adds up to 10, and they say the total possible is 20. Makes me wonder how the person who wrote this scored on the MCAS Math test...) There are also samples of student work posted on the site. So, based on the samples and the guidelines, and after multiplying by 2, I figure Regan should score 2 or 3 (meaning 4 or 6) for Topic Development and 2 or 3 (meaning 4 or 6) for Standard English Conventions. That's a score of 8 to 12 out of 20. Oh well, I guess I have to live with that. But I'm not happy about it.
What else bothers me about the whole process? When has anyone (meaning adult) ever had to sit down, be given a writing prompt, and write an essay in entirety right then and there? You don't even have to do that in college! When college students have to answer essay questions, they usually write about five sentences! In fact, we encourage them to say what they need to say in as few words as possible. When I want them to write an essay, I give them sufficient time, usually weeks, to do so. Check out Regan's blog to see what she came up with when given enough time: rpck.blogspot.com
Anyway, I don't imagine there is much I can do about this, and you all are probably tired of hearing about it, so I will end this here. Next time I plan to talk about Junk Mail...
-------------------------------------------------
Scoring Guides for MCAS English Language Arts Composition
Student compositions that do not address the writing prompt will be deemed non-scorable (NS), earning them a 0 out of a possible 12 points for topic development and 0 out of a possible 8 points for standard English conventions.Scoring Guide for Topic/Idea Development
| Score | Description |
|---|---|
| 6 |
|
| 5 |
|
| 4 |
|
| 3 |
|
| 2 |
|
| 1 |
|
Scoring Guide for Standard English Conventions
| Score | Description |
|---|---|
| 4 |
|
| 3 |
|
| 2 |
|
| 1 |
|
-------------------------------------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment