The six trait analytical model grew out of the need for teachers and students to retrieve useful, specific feedback from evaluations of student writing. In the early 1980s, teachers from Beaverton, Oregon combed through stacks of student papers in an effort to describe not only the salient features of all of the writing, but also to describe levels of performance within the writing they observed. This enormous effort evolved into a system to replace the one-grade-fits-all approach. Commonly referred to as the six trait analytical model for scoring, the model has met with unprecedented success, and has been effectively used around the nation, and around the world for over thirty years.
A six trait analytical evaluation requires two separate readings of a student’s writing; ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions– resulting in two sets of six scores per paper. Raters use a scoring guide with vocabulary and language universally understood as common descriptors of writing characteristics. Most importantly, the scores point clearly to the strengths and weaknesses of each piece of writing. Teachers and students receiving their scores will know where to focus their attention, and where to direct classroom instruction.
The evaluations from six trait scoring offer a broad perspective on the writing as a whole; the scoring guides are written in plain language and offer a framework for revision. Much more information is gained from this specific, trait-by-trait evaluation than can be derived from a holistic score.
We have used many scoring guides over the years, and have settled on those that produce the most effective, clear and consistent results. We use a separate beginner’s scoring guide for kindergarten, first, and second grades, and a six point, six trait standard scoring guide for third through twelfth grades.
The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a state-led effort that established a single set of clear educational standards for kindergarten through twelfth grade. The English language arts standards are set out in clear and concise language in the effort to ensure that parents, teachers, and students understand the expectations in writing by grade. Currently, 45 states have adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in the United States.
We have added a Common Core check to our evaluation service. The check specifically targets key Common Core Standards for the grade level. The six trait scores will provide a more definitive, comprehensive evaluation per trait, while the Common Core check will determine whether specific standards are demonstrated in the writing currently evaluated.
The Common Core proficiency check will evaluate the grade-specific common core requirements for writing and language. Specifically, we will evaluate one of the writing standards W.x.1, W.x.2, or W.x.3 depending on whether the writing is an opinion/argumentative piece, informative/explanatory, or narrative. We will also evaluate key language conventions standards from L.x.1 and L.x.2. We can only evaluate whether a student meets or fails to meet a standard in those papers where the standard is demonstrated. For example, for the seventh grade standard L.7.2(a), we will check if commas are correctly used to separate coordinate adjectives. A student paper may not demonstrate this situation, and in that case we would label that criteria as “not evident.”
Together, these evaluations give teachers the information they are looking for regarding student performance in writing standards; the two evaluations are linked in areas common to both, such as the ideas trait which calls for “clear and focused” writing in the six trait model, and for “clear and coherent writing” in CCSS language. The six trait scoring guide calls for “precise, specific, and accurate” word choice, which is very close to the CCSS language, “Uses precise words and phrases…” Keeping in mind that six trait scoring provides a comprehensive evaluation, and the CCSS checklist provides grade specific, “Pass/No Pass” information, we feel that all bases are covered!