WHAT THEY ARE | WHY IT’S VALUABLE | HOW THEY’RE USED | HOW THEY WERE CREATED | TRAINING | CONSIDERATIONS | NEXT STEPS | SAMPLE
		MARKER PAPERS A tool for teachers to evaluate their students' writing and to plan and improve their own writing instruction Developed by Jefferson County Public Schools and the Kentucky Department of Education

WHAT THEY ARE

The marker papers are examples of proficient student writing in primary through 8th grades. The papers illustrate the progression of key writing skills in specific types of writing. Each piece is annotated to show the skills that the writer has demonstrated and why the piece is exemplary.

The entire set of marker papers is presented in a large handbook distributed in conjunction with required training by the Kentucky Department of Education. The examples from primary grades include a number of pieces to show progress made throughout the year, while the examples from grades 4 through 8 represent end-of-year writing that show results of one year of effective instruction.

The marker papers do not replace the state's benchmarks for writing.

WHY THEY’RE VALUABLE

Before using the marker papers, many teachers didn't have a clear model of proficient writing at their particular grade level, or in the grade levels above and below theirs.

The papers help teachers see that one lesson will not suit all kids because there is a continuum of developmental levels in students' writing ability. "The papers push schools to realize that if they are not providing appropriate instruction in the non-assessment grades, they are not going to get their students to proficient writing at assessment grade levels. They help make sure that writing is taught well at all grades," says Ellen Lewis, a member of the state team that developed the papers.

HOW THEY’RE USED

When teachers examine their students' work against the marker papers, they are able to determine where a student falls on the continuum toward proficiency and what the student needs to learn next. Suggestions for next lessons are included on key marker papers.

In Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS), the best way teachers are using the marker papers, according to Lewis, is in a process where a group of teachers look together at each other's student work. They compare the marker papers for the same grade level against their students' work. The marker papers help teachers zero in on students' strengths and identify why the student was or was not successful in key pieces of writing. In these ways, teachers use the marker papers to help make instructional decisions.

The marker papers are also used during parent/teacher conferences to help answer parents' questions. Parents can compare the skills on their child's paper with those on the marker papers and get a clear sense of the district's high expectations for writing, what skills their child needs to develop, and how they might be able to help their child improve.

In the schools where the papers are used most successfully, the principal understands their purpose and encourages their use. In addition, teachers provide peer leadership in using them.

WHY AND HOW THEY WERE CREATED

The project to develop marker papers came about as a way to support teachers under the state's requirement that all students would keep a writing portfolio (folder of student work) in the non-tested grade levels. (In grades 4, 7, and 12, writing was already assessed through portfolios.) This new rule meant that all teachers were under new pressure to help each student develop his or her individual writing skills.

Jefferson County Public Schools, in conjunction with the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), and a team of teachers from across the state, led the process to develop the marker papers. In a multi-step, six-month process, the team:

1. Decided on the types of writing for which they would develop marker papers.
2. Sent a call to teachers across the state to share student writing in grades K-8 for particular genres.
3. Conducted a task analysis for each type of writing that determined what counted as good for each type of writing. The team considered the skills required by the state assessment for "good work" at the tested grade levels.
4. Examined existing pieces of writing at each of the tested grade levels (4, 7, and 12) and chose a sample of proficient writing in each of seven genres. The team annotated the samples with lists of skills in the state performance standards.
5. Determined criteria for a logical progression toward proficient student work at each of the non-tested grade levels. The team "filled in the blanks" for the non-tested levels by starting with the common set of skills in each of the tested grade levels and considering developmental strengths for primary students and skills students in grades 4 through 8 should show after one year of effective writing instruction.

HOW TEACHERS ARE TRAINED

Writing consultants at the state department of education offer training for teachers across the state in how to use the marker papers. The training for teachers in using the marker papers is delivered in three parts:

1. A short, three-hour introduction to the papers to make people aware of what they are and what they offer.
2. A day-long session in which teachers examine student work from their own classrooms against the marker papers.
3. A third session in which trainers model lessons that help students progress to the next level along the continuum toward proficient writing.

CONSIDERATIONS FOR DEVELOPING LOCAL MARKER PAPERS

Lewis offers advice for schools or districts developing their own marker papers: (1) Start with what counts as "good" by using existing state or district assessments if they exist. (2) Use those skills as a baseline for student papers that improve upon those skills at higher grade levels or that exhibit skills that lead up to that level of work for lower grade levels.

Lewis warns that local teams should not use student samples from 5th grade to show proficient writing at a 4th grade level. "When the source of the sample is consistent with what the marker is intended to show, we send the message that proficient writing is attainable when kids receive good writing instruction," says Lewis.

NEXT STEPS

Many schools are using these suggestions for next lessons to develop their own strategies for individualized instruction at different developmental levels. To help teachers in Jefferson County, the district's professional development academy has developed a unit of 30 daily writing lesson plans for intermediate, middle, and high school students. These writing lesson plans have been incorporated into the JCPS searchable database of core content materials.

SAMPLE

Download a pdf document of sample work from the marker papers: an annotated grade 5 personal narrative.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For more information, contact Julie Whitaker in the Humanities Branch of the Kentucky Department of Education (email: jwhitake@kde.state.ky.us, phone: 502-564-2106).