This engagement contributed to student writing improvement, most notedly in their elaboration. More specifically, most students improved their use and analysis of specific evidence.  This had already been a point of emphasis throughout the year, however, many students acknowledged that after they wrote their initial pre-writing draft (only an introduction and first body paragraph), self revision and peer revision allowed them to go back an add to these parts even more.  Many noticed that they had not explained how the evidence supported their thesis, but when another student pointed it out to them, they both were able to work through it and build their explanation.  Also, many students improved in their essay organization. This may have been because grammar was not as heavily emphasized in the rubric, however some students did acknowledge that they were able to go back during the revision lessons and fix up many minor conventional components.  I anecdotally saw this across many essays, as the frequent spelling errors that I had grown accustomed to or the use of first or second person were less apparent.

In addition, the holistic alignment helped me as an educator teach the larger components that I believed to most essential to their writing.  These were mirrored in the SmarterBalanced holistic rubric, such as in using specific evidence or creating a relevant introduction.  Despite me teaching these things before (with the analytic assessment structure), I felt the need to direct grammar or other smaller components simultaneously, which may have distracted me from creating a “process” oriented classroom or even teaching the components well in general.   Furthermore, the holistic rubric seemed to make more sense to the students because it was simpler and not as mathematical. The big ideas for each category were able to be easily transferred to lessons or onto worksheets, such as in the revision checklists.

Finally, using the holistic assessment impacted and will continue to impact my teaching because it did not diminish students because they made use of a different lexicon in their writing.  At times, the analytic assessment approach confined and limited students to certain grammar and conventions.  Much of the grammar was necessary for students to grow, however at times the analytic structure and rubric seemed to penalize students who had not learned to incorporate the expected grammar and language into their writing.  However, the holistic structure and rubric allowed me as the assessor to look at the ability of a writer to convey a message, rather than how a writer did in their growth per writing component, such as grammar.  Due to this approach, I was better able to understand what the writer was trying to do with their message and how well they were doing it, instead of looking at their writing categorically. This holistic outlook will undoubtedly impact my approach as a teacher in how, I teach writing (in the ability to convey a message) but also in other elements of my teacher: how I pose class discussion questions or even how I grade other assignments beyond argumentative writing.

Although there is a place for analytical rubrics, such as in helping to specifically diagnosis a students writing ability per component, holistic assessment will affect my approach in argumentative and most other styles of writing because of how it can drive instruction;  it places increased emphasis on lessons that have a larger scope in writing, that adopt a growth-process mindset, and that push to create authentic writing experiences.  This was evident in the lessons I created prior to the essay in which I attempted to convey the importance of what the students were doing by relating their experience to the world that they live in (Appendix II).  I focused on initiations or closure activities that spoke to real-world scenarios, their lives, or the essential questions that get to the “why should we care.”  I hope to incorporate this into more of my lessons, whether they have to do with writing or not, because it makes the content and skills relevant for students so that they can better understand it.  Moreover, the writing as a “process” approach was vital in the students’ growth with their writing because of the atmosphere it created, but also the skills that inherently it helped teach.  It allowed students to focus on the “bigger-things” while still using the minor, yet important things to get them there.  With lessons that incorporate holistic assessment components, this type of approach can help students become better writers and learners in any classroom. 

Yet, this can be done without using holistic assessment; a teacher may adjust their instruction as they see fit. However, holistic assessment in writing can guide teachers towards this instructional process, which may produce improved writing for their students. Overall, aligning argumentative writing instruction with holistic assessment will help students build reflective skills that may allow them to improve their writing and grow into the life-long learners that educators help inspire them to be.