Overview of Services

Short Form Practice Writing Tests

Cost: $2.50 per sample
(Grades 4-11)
A more affordable version of our supplementary writing assessments that can be administered any time during the school year to students in grades 4-11. Our short form practice writing tests cover the same genres and are scored using the same rubric as the statewide assessment. The scores are recorded directly on student papers and no reports are generated. Once papers are received they are generally scored and returned within two to six weeks.

Full Scale Supplementary Scoring

Cost: $4.00 per sample
(Grades 4-11)
Full scale supplementary writing assessments are formative assessments that parallel the state writing assessments in grades 5, 8, and 11. The full scale supplementary assessments provide the same information and similar reporting about students' writing skills as the state program. Testing booklets are provided for responses and are to be submitted before the scoring deadline. Student papers are returned for classroom instruction in January (grades 9 and 10) or during or before pre-planning for Fall 2013.

Writing Workshops/Professional Development

Cost: $750.00 per half-day
(Grades K-12)
We offer 3 hour training workshops for each of Georgia's Writing Assessments (Grades 3, 5, 8, and high school . Workshops provide an overview of scoring, prompts, genres, and an examination of model papers for each score point in each domain. Customized and specialty workshops tailored to the client's needs (e.g., K-2 Developing Writers, Moving from Meets to Exceeds, Writing Across the Curriculum) are available.

High School Predictor Test

Cost: $1.00 per student per content area

We offer tests in science and social studies that parallel the Georgia High School Graduation Tests in content, difficulty, and type of task This test may help identify at risk students on the Science and Social Studies portions of the High School Graduation Tests in order to begin remedial instruction.

Additional Services

Contact Us

The professional assessment teams at GCA are experienced at scoring short answer items and constructed response essays in all of the content areas at all grade levels. Our staff has expertise in all phases of test development (rubric development, pilot tests, field testing, system implementation, score reporting, and professional development).

Test Scoring

  • Scanning Multiple Choice Answer Documents
  • Scoring of Writing/Performance Assessments
  • Score Reporting
  • Standard Setting for Multiple Choice or Performance Assessments

Test Development

  • Writing & Performance Assessment
    • Rubric Construction
    • K-12, College Level and Beyond
    • Writing in the Content Areas (e.g., Science, Social Studies)
  • Multiple Choice
    • Validation
    • Item development
    • Test form creation

Training

  • Measuring Writing Achievement
  • Using Assessment Data in Instruction
  • General Research and Measurement

Surveys

  • Question Development
  • Scannable Forms Creation
  • Data Collection
  • Optical Scanning
  • Analysis and Reporting

Program Evaluation

  • Academic Programs
  • Character Education
  • Service Learning
  • Test Audits and Analyses

Services:

Short Form Practice Writing Tests

We are pleased to offer a more affordable version of our supplementary writing assessments that can be administered any time during the school year to students in grades 4-11. Our short form practice writing tests cover the same genres and are scored using the same rubrics as the statewide assessment. The scores are recorded directly on the student papers and no reports are generated. The papers with the scores included on the final draft page are returned and can be used for instruction. Masters of the test materials, which include writing topics, are sent to the participating school to copy and distribute to the students. Because schools are responsible for copying the test materials and no reports are generated, we can offer this service at the reduced rate of $2.50 per student. Once GCA receives the final drafts, the papers can usually be scored and returned within two to six weeks. GCA offers short form practice writing tests for Elementary, Middle School, and High School.

We are unable to accept advance payment for these services. We will bill you for the exact number of tests we score upon returning the student papers to your school or system. If you have any questions about Short Form Writing Tests, please contact Tracy Williford (amsjgs@uga.edu). 

Full Scale Supplementary Writing Assessments

Grade 4, Middle Grades (6-7), and Grade 10

Our full scale supplementary writing assessments are formative assessments that parallel the state writing assessments in grades 5, 8, and 11. The Grade 10 Assessment is a test of persuasive writing and may be useful as a predictor of students' performance on the Georgia High School Writing Test (GHSWT). The Middle Grades Assessment includes two writing topics (one persuasive, one expository) to be spiraled at the classroom level. The Grade 4 Assessment includes three writing topics (one persuasive, one informational, and one narrative) to be spiraled at the classroom level. The writing tasks are similar to those used on the state assessments and the genres of writing are the same.

Full scale supplementary writing assessments are scored using the same analytic rubrics as the state writing assessments. In each supplementary writing assessment, student papers will be scored in four domains: Ideas, Organization, Style, and Conventions. The supplementary assessments provide the same information about students' writing skills as the state program. Student papers will be returned and can be used for instruction.

Scheduling Full Scale Supplementary Assessments

The administration of these tests is flexible, based on the needs of the local system.

Grade 4, 6 and 7 Writing: January - May, 2013. Documents will be shipped to systems the week of December 3, 2012 for Grades 6 and 7 and the week of February 14, 2013 for Grade 4. This will allow schools to administer these tests on the same dates as the corresponding state assessments if desired. The documents will be scored during the spring and summer. Score reports will be available to teachers during pre-planning for Fall 2013, if not sooner. Answer documents must arrive at GCA/TSARS by May 2, 2013.

Grade 10 Writing: September, 2012. Documents will be shipped to systems the week of September 3, 2012. This will allow schools to administer this test on the same dates as the corresponding state assessment if desired. Answer documents must arrive at GCA/TSARS by November 1, 2012. Score reports will be available to teachers by the end of January 2013.

Reporting (Full Scale Supplementary Assessments)

Costs

Full Scale Supplementary Writing Assessments for Grades 4, 6, 7, and 10 will cost $4.00 per student.

Ordering

Your order must include a purchase order covering all materials ordered. We are unable to accept advance payment for these services. We will bill you for the exact number of tests we score upon returning the student papers and reports to your school or system. If you have any questions about Supplementary Assessments, please contact Tracy Williford (amsjgs@uga.edu). 

Writing Assessment Training Workshops

The Georgia Center for Assessment offers half-day training workshops for each of Georgia's Writing Assessments:

  • Georgia High School Writing Test (GHSWT)
  • Georgia Grade 8 Writing Assessment
  • Georgia Grade 5 Writing Assessment
  • Georgia Grade 3 Writing Assessment

Our 3 hour workshop entails an overview of the statewide assessment.  We discuss the scoring, genres, released topics and formats, rubrics, important components, common mistakes, instructional strategies, and testing strategies for each of the 4 domains (Ideas, Organization, Style, and Conventions) assessed. We discuss models of each score point (from 1 to 5) in all four domains.  After discussing the components of the assessment we work with the participants to apply that knowledge through scoring student writing samples. Each workshop can be tailored to meet the needs of the school or system.

In addition GCA also offers specialized workshops such as:

  • Developing Writers K-2 Writing
  • The Writing Process
  • The Path to Meeting the Standard for Struggling Writers
  • Moving from Meets to Exceeds
  • Writing Across the Curriculum

Materials

Each participant will receive a copy of the scoring rubrics, a set of student writing samples, and additional handouts. A digital copy of the presentation will be provided to the client to disseminate to attendees. Many slides are applicable to everyday use in the classroom.

Cost

The Georgia Center for Assessment can host the training workshops at our office in Athens or send a consultant to schools, districts, or RESAs to deliver the training.

  • $750 workshop fee for each half-day session (3 hours)
  • Reimbursement for travel expenses

To schedule a writing assessment workshop, contact Mark Patterson (mailto:mpatters@uga.edu).

High School Predictor Test

As in previous years, we will offer tests in Science and Social Studies that parallel the Georgia High School Graduation Tests in content, difficulty, and type of task. The Predictor Test scores correlate with the actual HSGT scores of students at approximately .70 and have alpha reliabilities of approximately 0.91. Administering this test may help identify students who are at risk of failure on the Science and Social Studies portions of the High School Graduation Tests in order to begin remedial instruction before the student suffers a failure.

Scheduling

The administration of the High School Predictor Test is flexible, based on the needs of the local system. We offer two administrations of this test. The Fall Administration window is in September-November. The Spring Administration window is in March-May, before, during, or after the regular High School Graduation Test window. Test materials will be shipped to systems around August 2, 2012 and/or February 1, 2013. We will return reports during the first week of each month for all documents received during the previous month.

Reporting

  • Individual student report and label
  • School level student achievement roster
  • School-level alert roster of at-risk students

Costs

High School Predictor tests cost $1.00 per student per content area. Optional GCA-printed test booklets cost $0.75 per student per content area. A .pdf or hard copy of the tests are available free of charge to systems who wish to duplicate their own test booklets.

Ordering information

Your order must include a purchase order covering all materials ordered. We are unable to accept advance payment for these services. We will bill you for the exact number of tests we score upon returning the completed materials to your school or system. If you have any questions about Supplementary Assessments, please contact Tracy Williford (amsjgs@uga.edu).

 

Georgia Center for Assessment - Services