Students in 4th grade will take writing assessments four times throughout the year as part of North Carolina's new Writing Assessment System pilot. They will complete two on-demand writing tasks in response to prompts in the computer lab, and two longer content-specific writing assignments over several weeks on topics in science or social studies. The on-demand tests will occur in September and March, while the content assignments will be worked on from September to November and January to March. The results of the 4th grade assessments will not be used for accountability purposes this year. The assessments will evaluate students' writing using rubrics focusing on features, content, and conventions. Sample prompts and rubrics were provided.

1. 4th Grade Parent NightEastfield Global Magnet SchoolHow to help your child perform well on the North Carolina Writing Assessment System Pilot!

2. How will my child be assessed in Writing?Students will be assessed four times during their 4th grade year of school. The new writing system encourages instruction to focus on the writing process, not just the preparation for a traditional single-day assessment.All students statewide in grades 4 and 7 will complete two content-specific writing tasks/assignments and two on-demand writing tasks.

3. How will my student take the writing tests?Students will word process both on-demand writing tasks in the computer lab after being read a single prompt. Students will complete the entire writing process from pre-writing to editing on the content specific tasks and their final copies will be word processed in the computer lab on a specified date.

4. When will these tests take place?4th Graders will complete their first on-demand assessment during the second week of September. Their final on-demand assessment will occur in early March.Students will work on their first content specific writing task from September through November and the second content specific task will be worked on from January through March.

5. Will the writing test keep my child from passing the 4th Grade?The Writing Assessment System will be a statewide pilot for the 2011-2012 school year. Results at grades 4 will not be used for any level of accountability.These tests will contribute to your child’s writing score on each report card.

6. What types of writing will my child be asked to complete?The on-demand assessments will consist of either a personal or imaginative narrative. Students will be asked to respond to a given prompt. The content specific tasks will be chosen by the teacher and will include content from either Science or Social Studies. The assessment may be a story, letter, research paper, etc.

7. How will the on-demand and content area assessments be scored?The assessments will be score d using a series of rubrics.The on-demand assessments will be scored with a features rubric and a conventions rubric.The content specific assessment will be scored with a features rubric, a content rubric, and a conventions rubric.

8. Features RubricClick on the link above to view the features rubric.

9. Content RubricClick on the link above to view the content rubric.

10. Conventions RubricClick on the link above to view the conventions rubric.

11. What do the prompts look like?Click on the link above to view sample content and on-demand writing tasks.

12. Thank you for coming to our parent night. We appreciate your assistance in helping your students to become effective writers!