Grinnell’s quantitative method of assessing writing
Currently, the College is using a quantitative method during the first, fourth, and seventh semesters, with professors rating student writing on agreed-to criteria as measured on a 1-4 scale. This method has three major advantages:
- It standardizes writing assessment across the curriculum and attempts to even out subjectivity by using faculty-developed criteria.
- It offers a quantifiable measure of students’ progress as writers.
- By allowing us to easily see areas in which writing instruction needs work, it serves as springboard for discussions on how to improve teaching.
