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2005
writing scores show mixed results
South Dakota’s 5th-grade students showed improvement on the 2005
Stanford Writing Assessment, while 9th-grade students
saw a decline in scores.
Fifty percent
of 5th-grade students scored at the “proficient”
level – up from 42 percent in 2004. Sixty-four percent of 9th-grade
students scored at the “proficient” level – down from 68 percent
in 2004.
The
assessment, a nationally normed writing test to measure
students’ ability to comprehend and express themselves, was
administered to South Dakota students last October. It evaluates
a student’s writing based on six characteristics: ideas and
development; organization, unity and coherence; word choice;
sentences and paragraphs; grammar and usage; and writing
mechanics.
The percentage
of students scoring at “proficient” or higher on each of the
characteristics is shown below:
|
5th
grade |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
|
Ideas
and development |
64% |
51% |
59% |
|
Organization, unity and coherence |
38% |
28% |
55% |
|
Word
Choice |
55% |
52% |
59% |
|
Sentences and paragraphs |
41% |
38% |
48% |
|
Grammar and usage |
47% |
43% |
49% |
|
Writing mechanics |
42% |
39% |
40% |
|
9th
grade |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
|
Ideas
and development |
66% |
67% |
66% |
|
Organization, unity and coherence |
64% |
64% |
65% |
|
Word
Choice |
63% |
69% |
63% |
|
Sentences and paragraphs |
65% |
67% |
59% |
|
Grammar and usage |
62% |
72% |
64% |
|
Writing mechanics |
63% |
69% |
68% |
Individual
student scores, classroom scores and school scores are provided
to school districts. Teachers are able to analyze students’
performance and adjust classroom instruction to strengthen areas
of weakness.
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