Montana University System Seeks Scorers

In a ground-breaking program that connects high school to college, the Montana University System will need at least 320 people to score essays written by 8,700 high school juniors. Based solely on voluntary participation by Montana’s high schools, nearly as many students now take the Montana University System Writing Assessment (MUSWA) as take the ACT and SAT combined. According to Commissioner of Higher Education Sheila Stearns, "It is amazing how many students, teachers, and scorers are participating in this project. Students get a better idea what they need to do their senior year to be ready for college composition. This saves time and money for everyone involved."

From March 10 through April 1 Writing Assessment Workshops will be held at eight different sites throughout the state. Workshop participants, who learn to use a scoring rubric and score essays, can earn OPI renewal units or one graduate credit.

The Montana University System Writing Assessment (MUSWA) has grown steadily since its first administration in 2001. The Montana Board of Regents adopted these test scores as a standard of readiness for college-level composition. As juniors in high school, students take the MUSWA and find out if they will be ready for credit-bearing, college-level composition or if they are more likely to need a developmental writing course when they enter college. Using this data, teachers and curriculum planners in the participating high schools have been fine-tuning their writing curricula to improve writing performance. One teacher wrote, “I often find that students fail to recognize the importance of their writing ability as it relates to future academic or career success. Clearly, writing persuasively is more than a desirable skill; it is a way to motivate students to take responsibility for their thinking.”

Every student essay is scored by at least two trained readers, using a “rubric” which describes the characteristics of an essay at each of six score points. According to a teacher who trains others to score, “The subjectivity of readers is a given, but as teachers we want to be able to communicate that there are criteria by which teachers and students can assess writing. When teaching professionals work through this difficult process together, the task in the classroom becomes a little easier.”

On February 21-22, about 40 “trainers” will convene in Helena to prepare for the March Writing Workshops by selecting new sample essays for their notebooks and practicing their training strategies. According to program director, Jan Clinard, “Anyone who is willing to commit two days–teachers, college instructors, counselors, teachers in training, administrators, parents, school board members–can learn to accurately score student essays. Information is available at http://mus.edu/writingproficiency/index.asp or by calling Jan Clinard at 444-0652.

Jan Clinard

Director, Academic Initiatives

Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education

46 North Last Chance Gulch, Helena, MT 59620-3201

(406) 444-0652