NAEP Writing Computer-Based Assessment: Grade 4
From late January to early March, 2012, grade 4 students across the nation will participate in a pilot of the NAEP writing computer-based assessment (WCBA). This pilot will prepare for the full assessment in the future. Read more about what schools and students can expect in the brochure about the 2012 grade 4 pilot of the writing computer-based assessment (310K PDF).
Before the pilot assessment begins, students will be shown one of two tutorials, depending on whether the student will be given two 30-minute writing prompts or three 20-minute prompts. These tutorials will help students become familiar with the way material is presented on the computer screen, and how to use the program. These two tutorials for the cognitive portion of the assessment are about 6 minutes long each. The students also will see a second type of tutorial to familiarize them with the questions about their educational experiences and demographic questions that follow the cognitive section of the pilot. This tutorial is less than 90 seconds in length.
In the cognitive portion of the pilot, students will compose their responses using a word processor similar to those commonly used at school. They will use familiar tools for editing, formatting, and text analysis. Students may ask questions about how to use these features at any time before and during the assessment. Students also receive a brochure, Ideas for Planning Your Writing Grade 4 (936K PDF), and scratch paper to brainstorm before they begin writing.
Accessibility and the WCBA
A key goal of NAEP is to include as many students as possible. The writing computer-based assessment is designed to comply with federal policy, which instructs that electronic information technology be accessible to all people, including those with disabilities. The writing assessment features optional settings that reduce the need for accommodations:
Accommodations available with the WCBA
As with other NAEP assessments, accommodations such as alterations in the testing setting or timing will be provided. For this assessment, if needed, additional accommodations will be available, such as screen magnification greater than 48 points and the ability to enlarge graphics. Accommodations such as signed directions can be provided by the school staff. Any change that alters the skill that the assessment is designed to measure will not be allowed.
NAEP Writing Computer-Based Assessment: Grades 8 and 12
In 2011, the WCBA was given to approximately 24,000 eighth-grade students and approximately 29,000 twelfth-grade students across the nation; results will be available in 2012. A helpful handout was given to each student in the assessment, Ideas for Planning and Reviewing Your Writing for grade 8 and grade 12 (each about 1160K PDF).
The writing CBA was very popular with the students because the software gives them many options for processing the writing task. To learn more about these options, watch the video tutorials below. These tutorials were made available to students taking the assessment at the start of the testing period.
For this operational assessment, the two types of tutorials (for the cognitive portion of the test, and for the questionnaire portion) were available in English and Spanish.
The writing assessment tutorial describes the word-processing and other tools to be used in the writing portion of the assessment.
The student questionnaire tutorial describes the questionnaire that is presented to students after they complete the first portion of the assessment. The student questionnaire collects information about sampled students' demographic characteristics, classroom experiences, and educational support to help NAEP provide a more complete picture of student performance.
This innovative computer-based writing assessment is described in detail in the Writing Framework for the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (3174K PDF).
Image credits (in all cognitive tutorials above): NASA/JPL/Cornell; NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell; © Andrew Manley/iStockphoto #3584924; © Vadim Yelizarov/iStockphoto #6962243; "This is Just to Say" by William Carlos Williams, from THE COLLECTED POEMS: VOLUME I, 1909-1939, copyright © 1938 by New Directions Publishing Corp. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.
