Throw 'em Out or Make 'em Better? State and District High-Stakes Writing Assessments

The writing of school-aged children is assessed for many reasons Teachers assess writing to monitor students' growth as writers, inform instruction, provide feedback, and evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching. Students assess their own writing to appraise growth, identify strengths, and determine areas in need of further development. Peers assess other students' writing to provide them with feedback on what works in a paper and what still needs work. States and school districts assess writing to determine how many students meet local or state performance standards, identify youngsters who need extra help, and evaluate the effectiveness of individual teachers and schools. The national government administers the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) writing test to measure American students' collective writing success, evaluating students' writing performance across time.