1. Session 4, Grading Practices
Section 3, Assessment 8 sessions
Session 4, Grading Practices
45 minutes
Considerations for This Session
This is the fourth session in the eight-part Section 3, “Assessment.” This session is best conducted after completing the first three assessment sessions as it references the work completed during those sessions. Ideally, this session would be offered after most teachers have taught at least the first two units of Being a Writer. During this session, participants will understand how to use the assessments to assign a numerical grade, and they will make determinations about how students will be graded using the Individual Writing Assessment.
Facilitator Materials
“Session 4, Grading Practices” slide presentation
Being a Writer classroom set for your reference
Participant Materials
Assessment Resource Book
(For grades 2–6) 2–3 sets of student work samples, including: Student Writing Notebooks and the same students’ published pieces, “Conference Notes” record sheets, and scored activities from the Student Skill Practice Book (grades 1–6).
(For grade 1) 2–3 sets of student work samples including: students’ published pieces and the same students’ “Conference Notes” record sheets, and scored activities from the Student Skill Practice Book.
(For grade K) 2–3 sets of student work samples including: students’ unit writing samples and the same students’ end-of-unit writing and “Conference Notes” record sheets.
Notebook or journal
Do Ahead
Download the “Session 4, Grading Practices” presentation from the CCC Learning Hub (ccclearninghub.org) and preview the content, including the commentary in the “Notes” field of each slide.
Familiarize yourself with the CCC ClassView assessment app, if necessary. You should be ready to show participants where and how to access Conference Notes using the app.
Set up the necessary equipment (computer/projector, screen, speakers, etc.).

2. Welcome to Session 4 Session 1, Whole-class Assessments
Session 5, Writing Performance Task Preparation Guide, Part 1
Session 2, Individual Writing Assessment, Part 1
Session 6, Writing Performance Task Preparation Guide, Part 2
Session 3, Individual Writing Assessment, Part 2
Session 7, Conferring
Welcome to Session 4
(1 minute)
Welcome the participants to this Being a Writer professional learning session.
Explain that Section 3, “Assessment,” has eight sessions. Read the slide aloud and indicate that this is Session 4 of the section.
If you are planning to facilitate multiple sessions on the same day, tell the participants that there will be a short break after each session.
Session 4, Grading Practices
Session 8, Skill Practice and Assessment

3. Learning Goals
Understand how to use the assessments to arrive at a numerical grade.
Make determinations about how students will be graded using the Individual Writing Assessment.
Learning Goals
(2–3 minutes)
Read the slide aloud.
Explain that during this session, the participants will work with partners and in small groups. Have each participant identify a partner to work with during this session. Establish a signal (such as a raised hand) for coming back together at the end of partner or small-group work.

4. Research on Grading Consider the following purposes for grading:
An evaluation of student work
A means of communicating with parents and other stakeholders about a student’s performance
A means of organizing a lesson, a unit, or another time period of learning—grades mark transitions and bring closure
(Marzano 2000; Walvoord & Anderson 1998)
Research on Grading
(3–5 minutes)
Have the participants review the research on the slide.
Ask partners to discuss the following question: How can we ensure that our grading practices align with the research?
Ask for a few volunteers to share what they discussed.

5. Grading Within Being a Writer
Work with a partner to:
Read the paragraphs about grading from the Assessment Resource Book (found after the “Reflection” section of the Individual Writing Assessments).
Read “Using the Student Skill Practice Book” in the Introduction of the Skill Practice Teaching Guide.
With your partner, discuss:
How do the parts of the assessment work together to form a grade?
Grading Within Being a Writer
(10 minutes)
Read the slide aloud and direct participants to where they can find the selected sections.
Have the participants begin working with their partners, following the directions on the slide. Invite kindergarten teachers to review the “Stages of Early Writing” table in the Introduction of the Assessment Resource Book and Part B of the Individual Writing Assessment. Have them think about how they might use these two resources to help them explain and show a student’s writing growth.
When all partners have had time to discuss, move to the next slide by saying: Now we will work to score some writing.

6. Grading Practice Work with a partner to:
Review the student work that you brought.
Practice scoring using the rubrics for Part A and Part B, and add the scores from the skills practice activities.
Calculate a final grade.
Discuss:
How might this process be beneficial to you, the student, and other stakeholders? What challenges might arise?
Grading Practice
(10 minutes)
Read the slide aloud.
Ask participants to begin working with their partners, following the directions on the slide. Invite kindergarten teachers to use the “Stages of Early Writing” table and Part B of the Individual Writing Assessment to evaluate the student work they brought. Have them determine the predominant stages of writing for each student.
Scan the room as partners work; when all partners have had time to discuss, transition to the next slide by saying: Now we will make some decisions about grading practices as a team.

7. Grading Conversations
With your grade-level group, discuss the following questions:
Will students’ writing grades be separate from their language arts grades?
What should each part of the Individual Writing Assessment be worth? Are there certain descriptors that are more important than others? (If so, you could count those scores twice.)
Will you give equal weight to the Non-published Writing (Part A) and the Published Writing (Part B) and combine the scores into one grade? Or should Part A and Part B be separate grades?
Grading Conversations
(15–20 minutes)
Allow grade-level groups time to discuss the questions on the slide. If time allows, encourage teams to share their plans with each other. Invite kindergarten teachers to discuss how the information gathered from the Individual Writing Assessment might translate to their schools’ or districts’ kindergarten progress reports.

8. What are your questions? What are your next steps?
End of Session
(2–3 minutes)
Allow time for questions.
This is the end of Session 4. Allow the participants to take a short (5–7 minute) break before continuing to Session 5. If you are facilitating these sessions over multiple meetings, announce the date and time of the next scheduled session and let the participants know what they will need to bring with them to the next session.