Assessing student writing performance is also a challenge to teachers. The Classroom Writing Competency Assessment (CWCA) was developed to offer teachers an integrated process for creating and assessing writing tasks in order to provide tangible indicators of increases in student competency. The CWCA provides learners with numerous opportunities to develop their writing as they integrate, apply, and extend their language in response to the demands of various tasks. CWCA divides this language use into three major ranges - formulaic, created, and planned language. Within those major ranges, it focuses on the nature of the language used; it characterizes that use in three subcategories - phases - for each of the ranges - low (phase 1), mid (phase 2), and high (phase 3).

Format of the CWCA

Prompts The prompts of the CWCA must be created based on the following format:

• Context: e.g., an exchange student in coming to the United sates and has written to you about what he expects.

• Text: e.g., writing a letter.

• Function/Content (floor checking task): e.g., writing about your family; telling about typical activities.

• Function/Content (ceiling checking task): e.g., writing the things your penpal needs to be prepared for; differences/challenges he might expect.

For more information on the CWCA materials/workshops, contact:

California Foreign Language Project
Stanford University, CERAS room 125
Stanford, CA, 94305-3084
Phone - (650) 725-2579
Fax - (650) 725-3770

 

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