To improve statewide assessment in Florida and test higher-order thinking skills, the 1990 Florida Legislature mandated the assessment of student production writing. The Florida Writing Assessment Program was established in response to this legislative action. Beginning in February 1993, all fourth graders in the state were tested in Expository or Narrative writing, while all eighth graders were tested in Expository or Persuasive writing. Beginning in 1994, all tenth graders in the state were tested in Expository or Persuasive writing.
All papers in the Florida Writing Assessment Program are scored by focused holistic scoring. This scoring requires readers, trained by the state, to evaluate the work as a whole, while considering four specific elements: focus, organization, supporting ideas, and conventions. A six-point rubric is used to score. An "Unscorable" is given to any paper that does not address or just rewords the prompt, is illegible or incomprehensible, or is left blank.
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