Overview

In this performance assessment, students will create a 500- to 750-word product responding to the following prompt: 

  • How can we, as students, actively contribute to improving our local community? Share your thoughts on specific actions, initiatives, or projects that could make a meaningful impact.  

In their response, students will be asked to choose a purpose, style, and tone for their product. The final product can be written, typed, or verbal. Example products may include an essay, letter, speech, poem, etc. 

Feel free to adapt the prompt to fit the needs of your classroom and curriculum. Below are a few more examples of possible prompts that could be used: 

  • Choose an issue in the community that you feel needs to be addressed. Choose a writing style that will inspire others or call them to action. 
  • Choose an aspect of the school that you believe makes it a great place for students. Choose a writing style that will highlight this aspect for the community.  

Students may create the final presentation in any appropriate way, including but not limited to PowerPoint or Google Slides (or another slideshow tool), Microsoft Word, or Google Docs, paper, or present/record their product verbally. Final student work should be scanned or saved as an Acrobat PDF for uploading to the virtual scoring software or, if presented verbally, recorded and saved as an MP4. 

Students should have had prior instruction on the different writing purposes, styles, and tones prior to being given this assessment. Students should have also had prior instruction on communication targets if the option of recording a speech as their product is offered.    

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Details

Big Ideas & Competencies

Big Ideas Competencies

F. Style and Language

Students can apply conventions of grammar and use academic and domain-specific vocabulary.

F1

Students will maintain a consistent style and tone of writing that fits purpose.

NOTE ABOUT ASSESSMENT RUBRICS

Below are analytic teacher rubrics. The column on the left shows the dimension that is being measured in the student’s performance. The levels across the top row indicate the performance level in the dimensions. Occasionally all dimensions and performance levels are exemplified by multiple students in a single recording.

Teacher Rubric

Dimensions Not Yet Meeting Expectations Meeting Expectations Exceeding Expectations

Research Support
  • Fails to use/ineffectively uses details from various sources to support writing. 
No exemplars at this time.
  • Uses details from various sources which correlates to the piece of writing which is created. 
No exemplars at this time.
  • Uses specific details from various sources which demonstrates an extensive understanding of the research. 
No exemplars at this time.

Purpose
  • Product’s purpose is unclear or loosely identifiable. Purpose may be unclear or off- task in sections.  
No exemplars at this time.
  • Product demonstrates a single purpose is clear and relevant to the task.
No exemplars at this time.
  • Product portrays a single purpose that is clearly identifiable by the audience. Purpose is relevant to and focused on the task from start to finish.
No exemplars at this time.

Tone
  • Product’s tone is unclear or varies from start to finish. May only contain a few words that hint at the product’s tone. The words or phrases may be highlighted or underlined. 
No exemplars at this time.
  • Product portrays a clear tone from start to finish. A minimum of three grade-appropriate identifiable words or phrases are used to portray tone. These words or phrases are identified by the student (highlighted or underlined for a typed or handwritten product; typed or handwritten for a recorded product). 
No exemplars at this time.
  • Product portrays a strong tone from start to finish. A minimum of five words or phrases are smoothly incorporated to creatively portray tone.  These words or phrases are identified by the student (highlighted or underlined for a typed or handwritten product; typed or handwritten for a recorded product). 
No exemplars at this time.

Style
  • Product’s style or text structure is unclear or not consistent from start to finish with the chosen type of writing (i.e., essay not written in multi-paragraph style, or a journalistic article doesn’t follow a newspaper format, etc.). Style may not be appropriate for the purpose.  
No exemplars at this time.
  • Product is displayed in a single style and text structure that is consistent from start to finish. Style is appropriate and relevant to the purpose.
No exemplars at this time.
  • Product is displayed in a single style and text structure that creatively addresses the purpose from start to finish.
No exemplars at this time.

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