Writing Proficiency
2008 MUSWA Scores Released
Montana high schools that participated in the 2008 Montana University System Writing Assessment have now received two mailings. The first included state, school and class distribution tables and class lists with student scores. The second mailing included Strength and Weakness data for each school, Letters of Recognition for students with scores of 5.5 and 6, Awards of Merit for 31 top-scoring schools, and model press releases. The May 2008 Newsletter, on the left side of this webpage, describes results and participation in the MUSWA and includes statewide Strength and Weakness data. Briefly:
- The Board of Regents adopted the Montana University System Writing Assessment (MUSWA) as one measure of Writing Proficiency to gain full admission to the four-year degree programs of the Montana University System. Participation in the MUSWA is voluntary. It was administered for the eighth time in February of 2008.
- 117 high schools tested 7,192 students, which represents over 70% of Montana’s high school juniors. The average score, on a six-point scale, was 3.6.
- To gain full admission to the four-year degree programs of the Montana University System in 2009, students must earn a minimum score of 3.5 on the MUSWA or the equivalent score (7.0) on the ACT or SAT essays.
- 299 teachers, college instructors, and pre-service teachers received training and scored tests at eight sites in Montana (Glasgow, Great Falls, Billings, Miles City, Helena, Bozeman, Missoula, and Whitefish) during March.
- 96 students who earned scores of 6.0 and 177 students who earned scores of 5.5 received Letters of Recognition from the Montana Board of Regents.
- Awards of Merit for the exemplary performance of their students went to the top high schools from each size category (AA, A, B, and C).
- 60% of the tests were submitted online, cutting printing costs and streamlining the data-gathering process. Only 9% of the tests were handwritten.
POLICY
The Montana Board of Regents adopted the Montana University System Writing Assessment (MUSWA) as one way for students to demonstrate their Writing Proficiency and earn full admission to the four-year degree programs of the Montana University System. Participation in the MUSWA is voluntary. It was administered for the eighth time in February of 2008 to 8,000 students in 117 high schools. In 2008, 63% of the tests were submitted online, cutting printing costs and streamlining the data-gathering process.
To gain full admission to the four-year degree programs of the Montana University System in 2009, students must earn a minimum score of 3.5 on the MUSWA or the equivalent score (7.0) on the ACT or SAT essays. Students whose scores are below this threshold can take the MUSWA, the ACT, or the SAT again.
The Writing Proficiency Policy :
- Informs high school juniors if they are on target to enter a freshman composition course that is developmental or a composition course that will count toward core or degree requirements;
- Ensures that students take the developmental course they need during their first year in college; and
- Identifies students who need more intensive writing instruction as high school seniors in order to graduate at the “proficient” level in writing.
In November, 2007, the Board of Regents passed a Composition Placement Policy, which brings consistency to the placement practices on the MUS campuses and allows students to use their score on the MUSWA, ACT, or SAT to be placed into credit-bearing, college-level composition courses. See Policy 301.17 for details.
The National Scene
Writing Proficiency has become a national issue, as described in The Neglected "R", The Need for a Writing Revolution. To address this issue and help schools improve their writing programs, the Montana University System has studied this issue in depth by administering the Montana University System Writing Assessment. An alignment document describes how the scoring rubric is based on Montana's Writing Content Standards.
Many colleges and universities require that students submit a writing assessment score for admission. The following campuses, frequently chosen by Montana graduates, now require either the ACT with writing or the SAT: University of Washington, Washington State University, Oregon State University, Stanford University, University of Puget Sound, Harvard University, Portland State University, University of Southern California, Willamette University, Whitman College, New York University, Boston University, University of California, Princeton University, Yale University, Northwestern University, and Dickinson State University.
The newsletter archive contains tables, graphs, and charts with statistical analysis of MUS Writing Assessment results since 2001. It is noteworthy that inter-rater reliability has been high throughout the project, calculated at .86 (Cronbach's alpha). Intensive training and consistent application of the scoring rubric helps achieve this inter-rater reliability rate.
Student Assistance
WEBwriters, funded by the Student Assistance Foundation of Montana, supports the development of writing skills by helping students prepare for and improve their scores on the Montana University System Writing Assessment. The website, hosted at Montana State University Great Falls College of Technology can be found at http://webwriters.msugf.edu. Trained scorers are invited to sign contracts describing their duties and stipends as webscorers. Webwriters accepts practice essays from Montana students throughout the school year.
ACT's website also provides assistance in teaching the persuasive essay. See http://www.act.org/aap/writing/highschool/download.html (click on "ACT Assessment at a Glance").
Teachers from Helena High School have developed a website with resources and ideas for teaching the persuasive essay, http://www.hhs.helena.k12.mt.us/Teacherlinks/Oconnorj/persuasion.html.
To oversee implementation of these recommendations on admissions, a
Steering Committee on Writing Proficiency Admissions Standards meets periodically.
For more information on the Montana Writing Proficiency Admissions Standards, please contact:
Jan Clinard, Ed.D.
Director, Academic Initiatives,Commissioner of Higher Education
46 N. Last Chance Gulch, Helena, Montana 59620-3201
Tel: (406) 444-0652 Fax: (406) 444-1469
