Assessment_Guide_For_Educators_Rla (Page 60)

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Assessment_Guide_For_Educators_Rla (Page 60)

60 Assessment Guide for Educators: RLA Appendix C T rait 3: Clarity and Command of Standard English Conventions As in the previous two traits, each of the three dimensions of Trait 3 must be weighed together to determine the score. Each score point describes the same dimensions, but at varying levels of mastery. Breakdown of Trait 3 Dimensions for Score Point 2 Dimension or Quality of Writing Explanation • demonstrates largely correct sentence structure and a general fluency that enhances clarity with specific regard to the following skills:

1. varied sentence structure within a paragraph or paragraphs
2. correct subordination, coordination, and parallelism
3. avoidance of wordiness and awkward sentence structures
4. usage of transitional words, conjunctive adverbs and other words that support logic and clarity
5. avoidance of run-on sentences, fused sentences, or sentence fragments This dimension relates to sentence structure and variety. Scoring will focus only on these skills essential to the development of sentence structure. High-scoring responses mix simple and compound sentences and purposefully incorporate a variety of clauses to enhance overall fluidity. Repetitive, choppy, rambling, and/or awkward sentence constructions are indicative of responses at the lower score points. • demonstrates competent application of conventions with specific regard to the following skills:
6. frequently confused words and homonyms, including contractions
7. subject-verb agreement
8. pronoun usage, including pronoun-antecedent agreement, unclear pronoun references, and pronoun case
9. placement of modifiers and correct word order
10. capitalization (e.g., proper nouns, titles, and beginnings of sentences)
11. use of apostrophes with possessive nouns
12. use of punctuation (e.g., commas in a series or in appositives and other non-essential elements, end marks, and appropriate punctuation for clause separation) The second dimension focuses on how well the response maintains specific conventions of standard English. Responses will be scored on the basis of a test-taker’s demonstrated mastery over the particular language skills listed in this dimension. Though there are many other conventions that come into play in a test-taker’s writing, these essential skills are the ones on which they will be scored. Further, the longer the response, the greater tolerance for errors. For example,10 errors in a10-line response will likely receive a lower score than a response that contains 20 errors but is 60 lines long. • may contain some errors in mechanics and conventions, but they do not interfere with comprehension; overall, standard usage is at a level appropriate for on-demand draft writing. The third dimension pertains to overall fluency with conventions and mechanics. In order to receive a score higher than 1, test-takers must sustain their writing long enough to demonstrate their level of proficiency with all the skills listed in the two previous dimensions. Then, writing samples are evaluated for level of grammatical and syntactical fluency appropriate for on-demand, draft writing.