Rubric for Writing Grade 1

Writing is scored on a 4-point scale using the following criteria

FLUENT WRITER = 4

Creative approach or interpretation of topic
Sense of voice and audience are evident
Story/message has clear beginning, middle and end
Organization is consistent throughout the writing
May include supportive details, descriptive language and interesting vocabulary
Sentences are varied in length and pattern
Demonstrates control of simple conventions of punctuation, capitalization and spelling patterns

DEVELOPING WRITER = 3

Demonstrates sense of purpose (mode)
Most ideas focus on topic
Has an apparent beginning, middle and end
May begin to vary sentence patterns and length
Evidence of literary language; may attempt to use describing words
May attempt dialogue
Generally demonstrates control of simple conventions of punctuation, capitalization and spelling patterns.

EMERGING WRITER = 2

Attempts to address the purpose (mode)
Awareness of the topic, but may not include loosely related material
Message conveys complete thought(s)
Sense of story may emerge
Sentences are generally short and simple
Awareness of conventional spelling patters that may not always be used correctly
Temporary/invented spelling is logical
Attempts use of capitalization and punctuation

PREWRITER = 1

Evidence of message not always present in writing (message may be dictated by student or indicated through drawing)
May use single letters, one-word label or phrase or an occasional complete thought
Little evidence of sounds/symbol correspondence or relationship between the writings and drawings
Uses strings of letters or numbers, or copies word from the classroom surroundings
May use high frequency words (the, I, my, is, etc.)
May include beginning attempts with invented/temporary spelling

Writing Rubric (Grades 2-4)

Writing is scored on a 4-point scale using the following criteria

Focuses on the topic, clearly addresses the purpose (mode), has ample supporting details
Has a logical structure that flows naturally with a beginning, middle and end
Has a sense of wholeness
Has an effective use of language with a variety of words and sentence patterns
Shows an awareness of word usage and spelling patterns in commonly used words
Exhibits the use of capital letters at the beginning of sentences and for proper nouns
Contains correct punctuation
(A four-point response may go beyond the requirements of the prompt)

Relates to the topic and generally addresses the purpose (mode)
Contains adequate supporting details
Has a logical order with an apparent beginning, middle and end, although some lapses may occur
Has generally adequate word choices and sentences which are mostly complete
Shows an awareness of word usage and spelling patterns in commonly used words
May have occasional word usage, spelling, and punctuation errors that do not interfere with the message
Has correct capitalization at the beginning of sentences and for proper nouns.

Attempts to address the purpose (mode)
Demonstrates an awareness of the topic, but may include extraneous or loosely related material
Includes some supporting details
Shows an attempt at organizing the paper around a beginning, middle and end
Uses limited vocabulary and has word usage and spelling errors that interfere with the message
Shows knowledge of capitalization at the beginning of sentences and for proper nouns
Shows knowledge of the conventions of punctuation

May or may not attempt to address the purpose (mode)
Offers few details and is only slightly related to the topic
Exhibits little or no evidence of an organizational structure; the beginning, middle or end of the response may be poorly defined or nonexistent
Uses limited or inappropriate vocabulary that obscures meaning
Has gross errors in sentence structure, word usage and spelling that impede communication
Has frequent and blatant errors in capitalization at the beginning of sentences and for proper nouns
Has frequent and blatant errors in basic punctuation

NS=

An N/S (not scorable) is assigned if there is no response or if the response is unreadable, illegible, off task or written in a language other than English.