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New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) Grade Level Expectations (GLEs) for Writing in Grades 3-8

Introduction

The New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) Writing GLEs have been developed as a means to identify the writing content knowledge and skills expected of all students, for large-scale assessment of writing. (It is anticipated that student writing will be assessed through large-scale assessment in grades 5 and 8 only.) NECAP GLEs are meant to capture the “big ideas” of writing that can be assessed in an on-demand setting, without narrowing the curriculum locally. NECAP GLEs are not intended to represent the full writing curriculum for instruction and assessment locally, at each grade. Each NECAP partner state is in the process of developing a set of local GLEs to accompany these NECAP writing GLEs, for local assessment purposes. All of the NECAP GLEs described in this document are expected to be assessed both locally and through large-scale assessment. “Local GLEs” in writing include concepts and skills not easily assessed in an on-demand setting (e.g., the writing process) and GLEs at grade levels not identified for large-scale assessment. (For example, if grades 5 and 8 are assessed at the state level, the GLEs at grades 3, 4, 6, and 7 would be considered “local” GLEs.) NECAP partner states developed these writing GLEs for grades 3-8 in order to provide context and continuity of instruction across all grades. Grade Level Expectations in writing - at any grade level - represent writing content knowledge and skills introduced instructionally at least one to two years before students are expected to demonstrate confidence in applying them independently, in an on-demand assessment.

The NECAP GLEs in this document can be interpreted as describing the grade level expectations for the end of the grade identified, or the beginning of the next grade. For example, grade 4 NECAP Writing GLEs identify grade level expectations in writing for both the end of grade 4 and the beginning of grade 5, for large-scale assessment purposes.

As you review the NECAP Writing Grade Level Expectations, the following are important to understand:

1) There are nine NECAP writing GLEs, organized into five writing content clusters: Structures of Language, Writing in Response to Literary or Informational Text, Narratives, Informational Writing (Reports, Procedures, Persuasive Writing), and Writing Conventions.

2) The Writing Process - drafting, revising, editing, critiquing, and publishing written products - is on-going throughout the school year and is best assessed within the classroom. There are no NECAP GLEs addressing the writing process for large-scale assessment. (See Appendix B for an overview of the Writing Process.)

3) Writing Dimensions: Purpose, Organization, Details, Voice/Tone are addressed throughout the set of NECAP Writing GLEs using descriptions appropriate to the related writing genres. GLES #W2 - #W8 assess writing dimensions as they are applied to different types of writing. Writing Dimensions are not addressed, nor intended to be assessed with a single GLE.

4) All of the concepts and skills identified at a given grade level are “fair game” for large-scale assessment purposes. However, conjunctions used throughout this document have specific meaning. The use of the conjunction “or” means that a student can be assessed on all or just some of the elements of the GLE in a given year. The use of “and” between elements of a GLE means that the intent is to assess each element every year. In some situations, “or” is used when students have choices about how they will cite supporting evidence for their responses (e.g., when writing in response to text, a student might choose support an opinion or judgment about text with appropriate examples, quotations, or citations).

5) Each NECAP GLE includes three parts.
• A statement in bold, called the “stem,” is at the beginning of each GLE. Each “stem” is the same or similar across the grades for a given GLE, and is meant to communicate the main curricular and instructional focus of the GLE across the grades.
• The unbolded text within a GLE indicates how the GLE is specified at a given grade level. Often there are several specific indicators for the same GLE stem.
• Differences between adjacent grades are underlined to indicate that new writing concepts or skills are appearing for the first time. (Note: Sometimes nothing is underlined within a GLE. In these situations, differences in adjacent grades “assumes an increasing level of writing skills applications,” as indicated with writing benchmarks illustrative for that grade.

6) NECAP writing GLEs are coded for the content area, the grade level, the GLE “stem” number, and the specific indicator for that GLE stem. (E.g., “W—4--6.2” means W (Writing) – 4 (grade 4) --6 (6th GLE “stem”) -- 2 (the second specific indicator for that GLE stem). The number of specific indicators for each writing GLE stem may vary from grade to grade.

Overview of New England Common Assessment Program Grade Level Expectations for Writing

GLE W1: Structures of Language – Applying Understanding of Sentences, Paragraphs, and Text Structures – Structures of Language are assessed within all genres of writing.

GLE W6, W7, and W8: Informational Writing (Reports, Procedures, or Persuasive Writing)

GLE W9: Writing Conventions – Applying Rules of Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics - Conventions are assessed within all genres of writing.

© January 2005. Produced in partnership with New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont Departments of Education, Education Development Center, and the Center for Assessment. Permission to photocopy is granted for use in individual classrooms and professional development settings.