Organic Writing Assessment: Dynamic Criteria Mapping in Action

  • writing assessment, culture, Teaching strategies

By Bob Broad, Linda Adler-Kassner, Barry Alford, Jane Detweiler, Heidi Estrem, Susanmarie Harrington, Maureen McBride, Eric Stalions, and Scott Weeden

CoverEducators appropriately strive to create "assessment cultures" (Huot 2002) in which they integrate evaluation into teaching and learning and match assessment methods with best instructional practice. But how do teachers and administrators establish the values that underlie their evaluations? Bob Broad's 2003 volume, What We Really Value, introduced dynamic criteria mapping (DCM) as a method for eliciting locally-informed, context-sensitive criteria for writing assessments. The impact of DCM on writing assessment practice is just beginning to emerge as more and more writing departments and programs adopt, adapt, or experiment with DCM approaches. For the authors of Organic Writing Assessment, the DCM experience provided not only an authentic assessment of their own programs, but a nuanced language through which they can converse in the always vexing, potentially divisive realm of assessment theory and practice. Of equal interest are the adaptations that these writers invented for Broad's original process, to make DCM even more responsive to local needs and exigencies. Organic Writing Assessment represents an important step in the evolution of writing assessment in higher education. This volume documents the second generation in an assessment model that is regarded as scrupulously consistent with current theory; it shows the range of DCM's flexibility, and presents an informed discussion of its limits and its potentials.

Table of Contents

View the Entire Book In PDF Format PDF Format

Front Matter

Chapter 1. Organic Matters: In Praise of Locally Grown Writing Assessment, Bob Broad

Chapter 2. The Journey is the Destination: The Place of Assessment in an Activist Writing Program—Eastern Michigan University, Linda Adler-Kassner and Heidi Estrem

Chapter 3. DCM as the Assessment Program: Mid Michigan Community College, Barry Alford

Chapter 4. Designs on Assessment at UNR: University of Nevada, Reno, Jane Detweiler and Maureen McBride

Chapter 5. Assessment Changes for the Long Haul: Dynamic Criteria Mapping at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, Susanmarie Harrington and Scott Weeden

Chapter 6. Putting Placement on the Map: Bowling Green State University, Eric Stalions

Chapter 7. Bookend, Bob Broad

References

Index

About the Authors

Publication Information: Broad, Bob, Linda, Adler-Kassner, Barry, Alford, Jane, Detweiler, Heidi, Estrem, Susanmarie, Harrington, Maureen, McBride, Eric, Stalions, & Scott, Weeden. (2009). Organic Writing Assessment: Dynamic Criteria Mapping in Action. Utah State University Press. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/usupress_pubs/165

Utah State University Press on WAC

Books in this series are presented on the WAC Clearinghouse courtesy of the Utah State University Press. The Press offers more than 180 open-access books through the USU Digital Commons. Visit https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/usupress_pubs/ to view these publications.

Acrobat Reader DownloadThis book is available in whole and in part in Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF).


This book is brought to you without charge in open-access format by the USU Press at DigitalCommons@USU. Copyright © 2009 Utah State University Press. Presented on this site with permission. You may view this book. You may print personal copies of this book. You may link to this page or its page on Digital Commons@USU. You may not reproduce this book on another website.