Weekly Authentic Assessment

This is the Authentic Assessment that I have developed to Assess your Weekly Authentics. It is based upon the following principles of authentic writing:

1. The audience is important.
2. Ideas and Content are king.
3. Assessments should be based upon what students want to work on.
4. Assessments should be based upon individual students rather than an entire group.
5. Grading should be done from the perspective of a fellow writer.
6. The teacher should be a part of the writing community and give true responses (comments/feedback) to student writing.

Which Core do you have Language Arts?

First Name*

Last Name*

ID Number*

User Name*

What is the title of your best post? (Has to have at least one full paragraph of writing.)*

Which Category would you like to be graded on most heavily?

Which Category would you like me to comment on most?*

Please grade the post you selected above on the following rubric that you helped to develop.

Profundity/Thought/Having A Point*

5 - I have put quite a bit of thought into the topic that I chose and it shows. I have one main point and I am exploring it through many details that reveal exactly what I am talking about to my reader.4 - Somewhere in-between a 5 and a 3.3 - I spent some time thinking about my topic, although it may not show that much. I have a few scattered points, but they seem to be holding together pretty well with my occasional details.2 - Somewhere in-between a 3 and 1.1 - I spent no time thinking about my topic and it definitely shows. I do not explain my main point. Wait, I\'m not even sure I have a point. I\'m pretty sure that I posted this just to say that I posted something this week. Wow this piece needs to be revised.

Voice/Visual Writing/Descriptiveness*

5 - I have no trouble visualizing this post because the picture is painted so clearly with my words. I understand all of the characters as seen through their thoughts and feelings, physical appearance, speech, actions of the character, and reactions of others. The use of images, metaphors, and symbols impresses even me.4 - Somewhere between a 5 and a 3.3 - I see a blurry picture of this post. I have only described my characters in a few ways. I may have a few images, but not really any metaphors or symbols.2 - Somewhere between a 3 and a 1.1 - I can\'t see my post. Where is it? I\'m not even sure what I am talking about, much less what it looks like. I don\'t know who my characters are, so there is no way that my reader knows anything. I\'m not really sure what an image or a metaphor is, but I\'m pretty sure I don\'t have them in my post.

Word Choice/Using the Right Words in the Right Sentence*

5 - My words are chosen with care, aiming for full effectiveness with each verb, adjective, and noun. I did not say very boring when interminable was more precisely what I meant. You can see the control I have over the English language by the rhythm I have created and my words compliment each other perfectly.4 - Somewhere between 5 and 3.3 - My words are pretty good. Notice how I said, pretty good instead of decent. Decent would be better word choice, and clearly I don\'t have that. I do have control of my language enough to not distract my reader from the storyline, but not good enough to lure my reader past a surface reading of my post.2 - Somewhere between 3 and 1.1 - I think that my words are about as specific as \"stuff\" and \"things.\" In fact, I may have used stuff and things multiple times in my post. There is no specificity of objects, people, or concepts. I could have just been saying um... over and over again.

Conventions/Grammar/Spelling*

5 - My punctuation, spelling, and grammar adds to the power of my post. I revised my paper to the point that each comma and coordinating conjunction has purpose. I have matched my spelling and grammar to my characters\' voices. My reader never becomes distracted from my content by my conventions.4 - Somewhere between 5 and 3.3 - My conventions are safe and simple. Meaning that I used punctuation that I am comfortable with. I make some errors because I\'m not quite sure what is supposed to go where. My reader sometimes has to reread a sentence to know what I am saying, but they always get it eventually.2 - Somewhere between 3 and 1.1 - I don\'t use spellcheck. I do not know what a sentence should look like. I\'m not sure how a comma works, and my reader is very distracted by this. They have trouble finishing my piece because I have mangled the English language so much.

Flow/Emotions*

5 - Each of my ideas transitions flawlessly into the next. I craft my varied sentences to powerful effect. I worked very hard to ensure that these emotionally charged sentences were well connected and that my voice stayed consistent. I get lost in my words because there is no separation between what I imagined and what I wrote. They are alive in a way that I wasn\'t sure I could accomplish.4 - Somewhere between 5 and 3.3 - My sentences are hard at work, doing what they do best: sitting there and being adequate. I\'m not all that creative with my sentences, but they aren\'t all alike. Some may be awkward, but they get the job done and are connected at least in a loose way.2 - Somewhere between 3 and 1.1 - It kind of seems like I put a bunch of sentences in a blender and chopped them into tiny bits and then poured them into my post. I have fifty different things going on at once and there really doesn\'t seem to be any way to connect them all together. I\'m not really big on variety, at least not in terms of my sentences. They seem stale and lifeless.

Logic/Organization*

5 - I introduced and concluded each one of my ideas so that my reader learned something from my post. My reader didn\'t have to think about how I was framing my subjects, the transitions were so smooth. I paced my piece well and made sure that I elaborated enough to show which points were most important. I used logic to decide what details should come in what order. I think that was a wise decision.4 - Somewhere between 5 and 3.3 - You can see that I attempted a introduction and conclusion for my ideas, but it may seem a little forced. The way I work from one idea to another is decent, but not great. I could have used a few more transitions or connections to make sure my reader understood where I was taking them. I have a decent pace, but I elaborate on some details that don\'t really matter and leave some of the most important ones unexplored.2 - Between 3 and 1.1 - I plopped all of my ideas down and just left them there. They seem a little silly just sitting next to one another like that, but I\'m not really sure how to organize them or transition between them. I don\'t know which ideas are important. Help me please!

Interest/Hook/Unique Perspective/Relation to Audience*

5 - My reader wants to gobble up all of my words. They can\'t get enough. The way I know this is because I put as much energy and passion into my words as possible. I have grabbed the readers attention with a great topic and never let it go by giving them a perspective that no one else would consider.4 - Somewhere between 5 and 3.3 - My reader is fairly interested in my post. I know what I am talking about, but I didn\'t talk about it as if it were my best friend. My perspective could really be written by most other people in my class.2 - Between 3 and 1.1 - Reader? What reader? I didn\'t know these things were going to be read. Otherwise, I would have written something more interesting. Well, maybe. Reading my post is pretty painful because it is boring and seemingly unimportant to the lives of my readers. I wish I had taken more time with this post.

Appropriate Tone for Purpose/Good use of blogging capabilities.*

5 - I aimed for something that was important to me (persuasion, love poetry, humor) and I accomplished my goal. My tone never shifts to the absurd for a cheap laugh. My purpose/tone is clear throughout my piece and I have used many of the blogging features to reach this aim (linking, pictures, building upon others ideas, paragraphing, chronology, asking for feedback, etc.).4 - Somewhere between a 5 and 3.3 - I have a purpose, but I\'m not always consistent with it. I slip into distracting seriousness during a humorous satire. I am somewhat unconvincing in my portrayal of my main ideas because it seems as thought I haven\'t quite picked one central tone yet. I have used blogging features, but they are sometimes mismatched with my purpose or conspicuously absent at key times.2 - Somewhere between 3 and 1.1 - I\'m not sure what my purpose was in writing this piece. I thought that I would figure it out after I wrote it, but even now I\'m still not sure. As for blogging features, I could have written this exactly the same on a piece of paper.

Any final comments/reflections about your post? Things you didn't get to write into your post? Reflections about the Weekly Authentic process? *