The 2017 model offers three distinct improvements:
More tightly coupled feedback and scoring
For example, if a student receives feedback suggesting that she use more transitional words, and she submits a revision in which she did use more transitional words, her score will increase.
The opposite is also true: if a student receives feedback suggesting she fix her misspellings, but her next revision contains more misspellings, her score will decrease.
More accuracy in scoring the three essay genres
The new model has been informed by thousands of hand-scored student essays, at all grade levels, written in the three essay genres: argumentative, informative/explanatory, and narrative. This means that the PEG Engine is even more precise in scoring the six traits for all three genres.
Different scores for different grade bands
An identical essay submitted at grade band 11-12, for example, cannot have a higher score than if it were submitted at grade band 9-10.
We've also updated the PEG Writing interface:
- Changed trait scores to show a decimal, rounded to the nearest tenth, rather than a whole number
- Added advanced filtering for the Average Monthly Scores report to show first drafts and last drafts
- Changed the Sentence Structure trait to Sentence Fluency in order to match the original 6 +1 Traits of Writing and better clarify differences in the traits
- Added read-aloud capability to lessons that had not had it before and updated some lesson text and audio
- Updated titles for “Transitional Phrases” and “Using Self-Statements to Improve Argumentative Writing”
- Moved “Writing an Essay” from Organization to Development of Ideas; moved "Pronoun Agreement" and "Subject-Verb Agreement" from Sentence Structure/Fluency to Conventions
- Updated the lessons tab to order lessons alphabetically by title
- Updated the technical specifications to Mac OS X 10.11 or later; Ubuntu 14.04 or later; Chromebook 57 or later; iOS 10.2 or later; and Android 7.0 or later
