ERIC Number: EJ785484
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008-Feb
Pages: 23
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0922-4777
EISSN: N/A
Evaluating Fifth- and Sixth-Grade Students' Expository Writing: Task Development, Scoring, and Psychometric Issues
Kulikowich, Jonna M.; Mason, Linda H.; Brown, Scott W.
Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, v21 n1-2 p153-175 Feb 2008
Drawing from multiple theoretical frameworks representing cognitive and educational psychology, we present a writing task and scoring system for measurement of students' informative writing. Participants in this study were 72 fifth- and sixth-grade students who wrote compositions describing real-world problems and how mathematics, science, and social studies information could be used to solve those problems. Of the 72 students, 69 were able to craft a cohesive response that not only demonstrated planning in writing structure but also elaboration of relevant knowledge in one or more domains. Many-facet Rasch Modeling (MFRM) techniques were used to examine the reliability and validity of scores for the writing rating scale. Additionally, comparison of fifth- and sixth-grade responses supported the validity of scores, as did the results of a correlational analysis with scores from an overall interest measure. Recommendations for improving writing scoring systems based on the findings of this investigation are provided.
Descriptors: World Problems, Expository Writing, Educational Psychology, Validity, Rating Scales, Scoring, Psychometrics, Grade 5, Grade 6, Task Analysis, Scores, Problem Solving, Social Studies, Mathematics, Sciences, Reliability, Comparative Analysis
Springer. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: service-ny@springer.com; Web site: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2189
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Grade 5; Grade 6
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A