Assessing Low-Stakes Writing

While some level of feedback is helpful and necessary for LSWA, the whole process need not be time-consuming or laborious.   Simple, limited feedback (even using a simple rubric) can be constructive for students.  

Ways to Assess Low-Stakes Writing

• Give a participation credit for the student’s completion of the work, either in BlackBoard or in class.
• Collect the LSWA and give short amount of feedback– one or two sentences per page.
• Have students turn in an informal “portfolio” of LSWA at the end of the semester for grading.
• Collect a number of LSWA throughout the semester, but not every one. You can announce in advance or make it a “pop” assignment.
• Use a simple rubric ( such as √+, √, √- or a simple points-based rubric) that reflects the student’s engagement with the material