 Florida Standards Assessment: Q & A with the State Literacy Department January Zone Meeting

Is there a preferred method of annotation/citation for the writing response?  For the timed FSA ELA Writing component, use of source material for students in grades 4 and 5 may include simple but clear use of sources, facts, and details. Students may choose to include the title of the passage/article, the paragraph number, the author, and/or direct quotations to attribute the sources of the information provided in the response. Citing evidence in grades 6-11 allows for informal citations, which may include the title of article/passage, author’s name(s), paragraph number, and/or direct quotation(s) with tag line.

Within the argumentative genre of writing, should we be teaching our students to include a personal example as well as a counterclaim and refutation in each body paragraph in addition to citing text from the provided sources?  The instructional decisions educators make should align to best practice based on the standards and the skill of the writer. Always including a personal example, counterclaim, and refutation in each body paragraph may lead to formulaic, rather than original, authentic writing. After reading the texts and the entire writing task within the prompt, students should plan the response with evidence- based points being the goal. If a personal example is relevant to the reason/evidence and illustrates the point, it can certainly be included as part of the elaboration. Again, the overall quality of the writing is key in determining the score within each domain.

How should students approach the task on the writing component?  Students should begin by reading the prompt before reading the passage set to determine the purpose for reading and responding.  Students should pay attention to the passage set title as well as each individual passage title. (Each passage in the set has its own title as well.) To cite evidence, the student should refer to the specific passage title or author rather than referencing the passage set title.  Students must take the time to read the passages closely. Analysis and synthesis of the textual evidence is critical to writing proficiency. It may be helpful to use marking strategies when reading the text for quick references to critical pieces of evidence to support the point being made.  Students should reread and dissect the prompt, assuring that they fully understand the task. The task could have more than one part, and both should be addressed in the essay. Paying attention to the purpose in the prompt will also help the student respond in the correct mode.  Before responding to the prompt, the student should plan the response according to the purpose, audience and task.

What is important when students are writing that might not be directly stated in the rubrics?  It is helpful for the student to consider the audience and write as if the audience has not studied the passages. Students should assume the audience is intelligent but may be unfamiliar with the specific information in the passages.  The students should focus on quality over quantity when writing, but writing that is too brief will not contain adequate evidence from the text.  The response should illustrate a balance between the use of textual evidence and the student’s own view/original ideas. Otherwise, the response may become a summary of the text or mere regurgitation/copying of the passage(s).  Repetitive vocabulary or sentences weakens the writing. This includes repetitive transitional or stylistic devices.  Extensive copying word for word from the text is not acceptable. Direct quotes should be relevant and connected by original writing. Students must acknowledge the source of their information. This can be informal. It becomes a more critical part of the standards as students move up in the grades.

What is important when students are writing that might not be directly stated in the rubrics?  Beware of overused transitions without internal paragraph organization.  Organization is important, but one organizational structure will NOT work with all prompts. The organizational structure must fit the task.  The student’s response must reflect analysis, but direct reference to every passage is not required unless evidence from every passage is used in the response or is required in the task.  There is more than one right way to address the prompt. The key is relevant evidence fully integrated with the student’s elaboration.  The evidence required is dependent on the passage and the task in the prompt. The student must dissect the prompt.  Student ideas should be closely connected to the textual support and logically used to support.  Precise academic vocabulary is important to the quality of the paper.

What does the teacher need to know and do to support students on the writing component of the FSA ELA?  TEACH THE STANDARDS. What does the standard specify for your grade level? It is helpful to lay your standards alongside the score points 3 and 4 for the domains on the rubric in order to fully understand the expectation.  Work on a simple way for students to cite their source(s) without interrupting the flow of the paper.  Text evidence is what is important; elaboration is why it is important.  Reliance on elaborative techniques, such as rhetorical questions that are not relevant or do not make a strong point (talking to the reader), should not be encouraged.

What does the teacher need to know and do to support students on the writing component of the FSA ELA?  The use of Role, Audience, Format, Topic (RAFT), Document Based Questions (DBQs) and Literacy Designed Collaborative (LDC) are excellent teaching strategies for standards‐based instruction and thus, preparation for the assessment.  We are teaching academic writing.  If there is NO original work, the response is unscorable.  Teach paraphrasing. There is a difference between paraphrasing and summarizing.  Use the portal:

Is partial credit given on the Reading/Language/Listening component for questions will multiple tasks or parts (for example, Part A/B questions, Editing Tasks with multiple highlighted sections, etc...)?  This is a complex question, with answers that are item dependent based on several factors. First, of course, a multiple choice item would have just one correct response, and would therefore be worth 1 point. A multiselect item in which the student is required to select two or more responses might be worth 1 or 2 points. It depends upon the standard and the complexity of the item. That is, some standards require two selections, such as the “two main ideas” standard LAFS.5.RI.1.2. In this case, both selections might be required in order to measure the standard. In such a case, a student might be required to make two selections in order to score a point. However, other items might require multiple steps. These might be valued at 2 or more points. As noted, final decisions are carefully made based on standards alignment, item requirements, and statistical analysis that includes approval from content specialists and Florida educators.