Writing portfolios: How about this?

I don’t think anyone disputes the value of writing.

The issue is whether our teachers will continue to teach writing, or even teach it better, if we pull Writing Portfolios out of CATS.

So far, I would argue that the combined evidence from extensive teacher complaints about awkward CATS Writing Portfolio scoring rules (69 percent in one recent report want them out) coupled with Kentucky’s marginal performance on the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 8th grade writing assessment as shown here and unending criticism of portfolio scoring accuracy indicate it is worthwhile to try something else.

Kentucky only statistically significantly outscored just 5 of the 45 states that participated in NAEP writing in 2007. We only got a statistical tie for writing proficiency with California where a far smaller proportion of kids were excluded and one-in-five was still learning English as a Second Language).

But, here is a suggestion. The NAEP will again test writing in 2011. That gives us two years to teach writing without portfolios in CATS. We can put portfolios back in if the NAEP results decay. On the other hand, if our NAEP results notably improve, then everyone can be comfortable it is the right choice to keep portfolios out of the accountability program. After all, Kentucky is apparently the only state still using portfolios for accountability, according to discussions during the Assessment and Accountability Task Force.

So, readers, what do you think? Is this worth a try?