If your school does not use letter grades -- and perhaps even if it does -- you probably spend a great deal of time writing anecdotal notes on report cards. One of the advantages of conducting informal assessment regularly is that you develop a set of comments on which you can draw at report-card time. The evaluation notebook that you set up at the beginning of the year and the comments you have made in student portfolios become rich resources of information. Your report card narrative can repeat some notes and summarize and synthesize others, always emphasizing what the student can do.

WRITING RUBRIC

Criterion	Independent	Proficient	Developing	Beginning	Notes
Uses prewriting techniques	y	n	n	n	always prewrites; tries different techniques
Organizes drafts in a logical order	n	y	n	n	usually good sequencing; some trouble w/compare-contrast
Elaborates with relevant details	n	n	y	n	usually includes one detail, if any
Shares drafts with others	n	y	n	n	much improved from early in term
Revise effectively	n	n	y	n	works too quickly; misses some obvious fixes; good on clarifying ideas
Uses conventions of grammar, usage, and mechanics correctly	n	n	y	n	works too quickly; wants to get on to next thing
Proofreads and makes necessary corrections	n	n	y	n	needs to work on proofreading techniques
Shares finished writing with others	n	y	n	n	much improved from early in term
Experiments with new writing ideas and skills	n	n	n	n
Shows ability to write in different modes	n	n	n	n
Completes writing assignments on time	n	n	n	n
Keeps writing folder/portfolio in order	n	n	n	n

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