OPINION WRITING PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

DEBORAH DEGENNARO
POST UNIVERSITY

OPINION WRITING STANDARD

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.1: Write opinion pieces on topics or
texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and
information.
This fifth grade writing standard was chosen for this
assessment because it encompasses all of the knowledge
and skills necessary to write a well-developed opinion essay.
To further understand all of the knowledge and skills students
will be responsible for demonstrating with a standard, it is
important to unpack the standard.

OPINION WRITING STANDARD

To unpack a
standard, identify
the verbs and the
nouns. This will
lead to the
identification of
the necessary
skills.
Orange = verbs
Blue = nouns

CCSS.ELALITERACY.W.5.1:
Write opinion
pieces on topics
or texts,
supporting a
point of view
with reasons
and information.

LEARNING TARGETS
Once the verbs and nouns from a standard are identified, the
skills needed to successfully meet the standard can be
identified. These skills are based on the verbs and nouns
taken from the standard, while also considering any
background skills or knowledge that may be necessary.
After these skills are identified, learning targets can be
developed. These are student-friendly statements that
identify what students will be able to do at the end of a
given lesson.
Learning targets can be categorized into four main types:
knowledge, reasoning, performance skill, and product. A
performance assessment should include all 4 types.

LEARNING TARGETS
Knowledge Learning Targets: I can identify what an opinion is. I
can define classroom organization and design. I can identify
important information about elements of classroom
organization and design.
Reasoning Learning Targets: I can interpret data to support my
opinion. I can distinguish important information from less
important information.
Skill Learning Targets: I can research information about the
topic. I can formulate an opinion about a topic. I can support
a logical argument with reasons and evidence. I can use
drawing or digital media skills to show the physical
elements of the design.
Product Learning Target: I can write a persuasive opinion essay
explaining why my design is the best. I can create a visual
representation, such as a drawing, brochure, or video, to
show my design.

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT
GOAL

Your goal is to design a classroom space for an

elementary class. You must consider comfortable spaces
for learning in the 21st century when designing your
classroom.

ROLE

You are consulting as part of a team of interior designers

who specialize in classroom design. Although this team is
very familiar with classroom design, you have been added
to the team as an expert. You are a student who is
knowledgeable about the ways that students like to learn
and the types of tasks students do in typical classrooms.
You may also do additional research on classroom design
or learning strategies.

AUDIENCE

Your audience is the PTO at your school, which has

secured a grant to re-design classrooms in order to
enhance learning. Members of the PTO will review
proposals of classroom designs and make the ultimate
decision about which design(s) to use in the classrooms.

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT
PROCEDURE/ First, consider your preferences and those of your
COMPONENTS classmates when considering your learning

environment. Consider color, textures, lighting,

different areas of the room, types of seating, and
anything else thats important to you as a learner!
Next, research the aspects that are most essential to
your design so that you can provide evidence to the
PTO about why your design is the best one.
Your next step will be to create a rough sketch of your
design so that you have an idea of how the elements
will work together. This will not be part of your final
presentation, but it will assist you in creating your
proposal.
Your final project will have two components: a written
proposal and a visual aide.

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT
PROCEDURE/
COMPONENT
S
(continued)

Written proposal to the PTO, including the following

elements:
Clear statement of opinion (REMEMBER: youre
trying to convince them to choose your
proposal because it is the most welldesigned!)
Organization of proposal with an introduction,
body paragraphs, and conclusion
Reasons and evidence to support your opinion
and show why your design would be effective
(these should explain the elements of the
design that you chose and WHY)
In order to provide a more interactive and clear
representation of your design, you must choose ONE
of the following to create:
Detailed drawing of classroom design
Brochure showing and explaining elements of
the design
Brief video showing and explaining elements
of the design

PRODUCT/
PERFORMANC
E

A rubric will be used to assess you on your written

proposal and your design considerations. The written
proposal will be assessed for opinion writing skills.
Creative thinking and analysis will also be assessed.

RUBRIC

Exceeds Expectations

Meets Expectations

Progressing

Not There Yet

Design
Considerations

Design incorporates 6
or more elements of
both student &
teacher needs and/or
wants

Design incorporates 45 elements of both

student & teacher
needs and/or wants

Design incorporates 23 elements of both

student & teacher
needs and/or wants

Design incorporates 1
or less elements of
student & teacher
needs and/or wants OR
does not consider both
students & teachers

Visual Aids

All visual aids strongly

support and enhance
the proposal

Most visual aids

support and enhance
the proposal

Some visual aids

support and enhance
the proposal

Few visual aids

support and enhance
the proposal

Proposal

Proposal provides 710 details about the

design plan and 3 or
more reasons why
choices were made

Proposal provides 5-6

details about the
design plan and 3
reasons why choices
were made

Proposal provides 3-4

details about the
design plan and 1-2
reasons why choices
were made

Proposal provides 2 or
less details about the
design plan and no
clear reasons why
choices were made

Opinion Writing
(weighted x2)

Writing contains a
clear opinion with 3 or
more logical reasons
and strong evidence
(9 or more pieces of
evidence) to support
it

Writing contains an
opinion with 3 reasons
and 6-9 pieces of
evidence to support it

Writing contains an
opinion but may only
have 1-2 reasons
and/or 3-5 pieces of
evidence to support it

Writing does not

contain a clear opinion,
and/or 1 or fewer
reasons, and/or 2 or
fewer pieces of
evidence

Conventions

Writing is 85% or
more error-free in
terms of spelling,
grammar,
capitalization, and
punctuation

Writing is 70% or
more error-free in
terms of spelling,
grammar,
capitalization, and
punctuation

Writing is 50% or
more error-free in
terms of spelling,
grammar,
capitalization, and
punctuation

Writing is less than

50% error-free in
terms of spelling,
grammar,
capitalization, and
punctuation

KEYS TO QUALITY ANALYSIS

Key 1: Assessment serves a clear and appropriate purpose. (Did the author specify users and
uses, and are these appropriate?)
Rating

Description and Support

The purpose of the assessment is clear. There are detailed instructions and several
components of the student template (goal, role, audience) that illustrate the purpose of the
task. The purpose is appropriate because students will use their opinion writing skills to enact
change in their school. The purpose is meaningful and relevant to students.

Key 2: Assessment reflects valued achievement targets. (Has the developer clearly specified
the achievement targets to be reflected in the assessment? Do these represent important
learning outcomes?
Rating

Description and Support

There are many learning targets associated with this performance assessment. The targets are
clear and in student-friendly language. The knowledge learning targets are designed to ensure
that students have a basic understanding of what an opinion is, as well as some of the
vocabulary specific to this task, such as classroom design. The majority of the learning targets
are tied to skills and competencies related to the opinion writing process (researching,
supporting an opinion with reasons and evidence). Some of the targets are more specific to
this task, but they also provide practice with important presentation skills (creating a drawing,
brochure, or video to accompany the proposal).

Key 3: Design. (Does the selection of the method make sense given the goals and purposes? Is
sampling appropriate to get a good estimate of student learning? Is there anything in the
assessment that might lead to misleading results?)
Rating

Description and Support

The selection of this assessment method makes sense given the purpose of persuading the
audience based on the students opinion. There are many skills and competencies involved in
writing an essay, but the context of this performance task adds a level of engagement of
students. Sampling is appropriate to get a good estimate of student learning because the
assessment is focused on individual student writing. Most of the learning targets are aligned with
outcomes related to the opinion writing standard. Three of the five indicators of quality are related
to the written work, with the opinion writing section holding double weight. This should also

KEYS TO QUALITY ANALYSIS

Key 4: Communication. (Is it clear how this assessment helps communication with others about
student achievement?)
Rating

Description and Support

The assessment rubric clearly outlines which skills will be assessed. This rubric is used by
students to complete a self-assessment prior to submitting the assignment. When the rubric is
used to score student work, it shows students areas of strength and weakness. If someone
looked at the rubric, they would be able to see whether a student was capable of expressing
and logically supporting an opinion.

Key 5: Student Involvement. (Is it clear how students are involved in the assessment as a way
to help them understand achievement targets, practice hitting those targets, see themselves
growing in their achievement, and communicate with others about their success as learners?)
Rating

Description and Support

It is clear that students are involved in the assessment and can understand their own learning
achievement. The learning targets for the assessment are all listed at the top of the student
template. This makes it clear to students which skills and competencies they will need to
demonstrate for this task. The rubric shows students what they will be assessed on and the
weight of each of those indicators. It also provides several levels of achievement for each
indicator. This provides students the opportunity to see what it would take to bring their work
to the next level of achievement. The rubric also provides a way to communicate their success
with parents and other important figures in students lives.

REFERENCES
Brookhart, S. M. (2014). How to design questions and tasks to assess
student thinking. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Chappuis, S., Chappuis, J., & Stiggins, R. (2009). The quest for quality.
Educational Leadership 67(3), 14-19.
Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2016). English language arts
standards. Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org/ELALiteracy/W/5/
Lewin, L. & Shoemaker, B. J. (2011). Great performances: Creating
classroom-based assessment tasks. Alexandria, VA: Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Tangi Schools. (2012). Unpacking the Common Core. Retrieved from
http://www.tangischools.net/ciweb/unpackingpowerpoint.pdf
University of Texas at Austin. (2015). Rubrics. Retrieved from http://
learningsciences.utexas.edu/teaching/assess-learning/rubrics
Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools. (n.d.). Deconstructing/unpacking
learning standards: Clarifying learning targets. Retrieved from http://
www.wsfcs.k12.nc.us/cms/lib/NC01001395/Centricity/ModuleInstance/1
7572/Deconstructing_Standards_Info_and_Steps.pdf