703 KAR 5:010. Writing portfolio procedures

      Section 1. Appropriate Use of Time. (1) A school and district shall implement practices that reduce teacher and student time in preparing a writing portfolio by implementing a vertically-aligned writing curriculum based on the Program of Studies, 704 KAR 3:303, using writing instruction (including writing to learn) across the curriculum and instructing students to make decisions regarding the use of the writing process.

      (2) A school shall allow for an appropriate amount of time for writing development throughout all grade levels and content areas. A classroom teacher shall limit the amount of time spent on a single portfolio entry and the number of revisions of a single writing portfolio entry.

      (3) Development of writing assignments shall not limit instruction of skills and concepts in content areas, but shall be designed to support and enhance a student’s content knowledge.

      (4) Beginning in the 2006-2007 school year, a school or district shall not schedule a class for the sole intent of producing an accountability portfolio. Writing instruction shall serve as a component of literacy instruction and shall not be isolated for the purposes of state assessment and accountability.

      (5) A school shall implement practices that use time efficiently and comply with this administrative regulation.

 

      Section 2. School and District Writing Programs. (1) A school shall provide writing instruction and authentic writing opportunities at all grade levels and shall develop a procedure to collect working folders that include writing pieces at nonaccountability levels for possible inclusion in the accountability portfolio. This writing shall align to all portfolio categories and the content areas being studied. A school shall not wait until the accountability year to instruct the types of writing appropriate for inclusion in the writing portfolio.

      (2) A writing piece in the working folder may be revised or edited by the student for inclusion in the accountability portfolio or it may be used as a finished product and included in the accountability portfolio.

      (3) A writing piece in a working folder shall comply with the Program of Studies, 704 KAR 3:303.

      (4) A district shall assist schools in managing working folders by enabling transition from one school level to the next (elementary school to middle school to high school). When a student transfers to another school or district, the working folder along with the student’s transcript shall be sent in a timely manner to the receiving school.

      (5) A school shall identify a writing cluster leader for each writing portfolio assessment level at the school (grades 4, 7, and 12). The writing cluster leader shall be a lead teacher with experience in writing instruction and leadership skills but is not required to be a teacher from the assessment grade levels. The cluster leader shall not be an intern teacher.

      (6) A school and district shall provide opportunity for teachers across the curriculum and across grade levels to engage in professional development focused on writing instruction across the content areas and the types of writing assessed in the portfolio. Professional development shall support a teacher’s ability to link content to writing opportunities and shall assist teachers with facilitating the writing process of all students.

      (7) A school council shall review the instructional needs of all programs when making decisions regarding use of resources. Adequate resources (for example, staff, extended school services, technology, space) shall be used to support the instructional needs of the school as determined by data collection and needs analysis.

 

      Section 3. Writing Instruction. (1) A teacher-assigned writing task shall relate to standards-based units of study so that writing is relevant to and promotes learning in the content area. A teacher shall not assign writing that does not promote, support, or demonstrate learning in the content area being studied.

      (2) A writing task shall link assignments and instructional practices to authentic situations with genuine opportunities for student choice in writing and for publication to real audiences in order to enable a student to develop as an independent writer and thinker.

      (3) A teacher shall choose content-area readings that represent the kind of writings the students are asked to include in the portfolio, allowing the integration of content and the discussion of writing form (for example, editorial, article, academic paper) to occur at the same time.

      (4) A teacher shall allow time for instruction and use of the writing process (focusing, prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, publishing, reflecting) in the classroom as part of instruction and may allow some student work outside of class; however, portfolio pieces shall not be entirely completed at home or with no evidence of the writing process.

      (5) A writing conference and a revision shall be directly linked to the skills being taught during the instruction of the writing assignment. A writing conference shall be used as an instructional tool to support a student’s learning of particular skills associated with a writing assignment. A teacher may use individual, small group, or whole group conferencing sessions to address common patterns of errors (for example, literacy techniques, organizational problems, and confusion about conventions). A teacher and other conferencing partner shall limit a conference’s focus to one (1) or two (2) areas of need, addressing patterns of errors or problems that occur frequently in an individual student’s writing.

      (6) A conferencing partner shall understand and be familiar with the writing needs of the student and shall address the instructional needs of the student writer during conferences but shall not take ownership of the student’s writing process by requiring an arbitrary number of revisions. A teacher and other conferencing partners shall respect the individual student’s preferences when encouraging revisions so that the student retains ownership of the work.

      (7) A teacher or other conferencing partner may indicate the type and position of errors (for example, circle errors, highlight mistakes, put checks in margins of lines where errors occur) on student writing; however, a teacher and other conferencing partner shall not correct errors on papers that might be included in the accountability portfolio.

      (8) A teacher shall allow students to use word processing during the development of writing pieces (for example, during revision or editing) or allow students to submit pieces in their own handwriting. If a student uses a word processing program to produce the student’s writing, all formatting shall be completed by the student unless otherwise allowed by the student’s Individual Education Program, 504 Plan, or Program Services Plan. If a student is not given access to technology during the writing process, the school shall not require that the entries in the accountability portfolio be word processed.

      (9) The development of the writing portfolio shall not limit the use of a technology or media center as it is used to meet the needs of all students.

 

      Section 4. Portfolio Design and Scoring. (1) Beginning with the 2007 Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS) assessment, a four (4) piece portfolio shall be produced in 12th grade, a three (3) piece portfolio shall be produced in 7th grade, and a three (3) piece portfolio shall be produced in 4th grade.

      (2) A school and district shall implement procedures for scoring of student portfolios that include an adequate number of teacher scorers on the school scoring team to limit the number of portfolios scored by any one (1) teacher to thirty (30), unless a teacher agrees to score a larger number of portfolios.

      (3) The classroom teacher primarily responsible for overseeing the completion of a student’s writing portfolio shall not serve as a scorer of record for that student’s accountability portfolio. (25 Ky.R. 1281; eff. 1-19-99; Am. 32 Ky.R. 2151; eff. 8-7-06.)

Notation

      RELATES TO: KRS 158.6453

      STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 156.070, 158.6453

      NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS 158.6453 requires the Kentucky Board of Education to promulgate an administrative regulation which reduces the teacher and student time involved in preparing a writing portfolio. This administrative regulation establishes procedures to accomplish that goal and establishes standards to ensure that writing portfolios are a valuable component of teaching and learning.