This memorandum describes the process and results of developing draft summative writing assessments within the CBAL Research Initiative (Cognitively Based Assessments of, for, and as Writing). It outlines four designs—each focused on a different skill—at the 8th grade level, reviews in detail the content of each design, and presents the motivation for the design decisions. It also briefly sketches initial results from preliminary pilots, where available, and connects each design to the 2008 CBAL Writing competency model.
