Development and Initial Validation of the Early Elementary Writing Rubric to Inform Instruction for Kindergarten and First-Grade Students

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aran

Development of the Early Elementary Writing Rubric (EEWR) provides an analytic assessment to measure kindergarten and first-grade writing and guide instruction. The study follows Crocker and Algina’s instrument development and validation approach to create a 10-item measure with a response scale from beginning kindergarten to end first grade. Educators used focus groups, expert review, cognitive interviews, and pretesting. Pilot data from 634 students were analyzed with exploratory factor analysis; results support a one-factor model, high internal consistency (.89–.91), and variable interrater reliability (52%–72%).

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Instrument Development

Measurement Quality and Psychometrics

Technical Adequacy of Assessments

Types of Writing Assessments

Development and Initial Validation of the Early Elementary Writing Rubric to Inform Instruction for Kindergarten and First-Grade Students Meaghan McKenna, PhD 1, Robert F. Dedrick, PhD 1, and Howard Goldstein, PhD 1 Assessment for Effective Intervention 2022, Vol. 47(4) 220–233 © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2021 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[DOI: 10.1177/15345084211065977](DOI: 10.1177/15345084211065977)[ ](DOI: 10.1177/15345084211065977)[aei.sagepub.com](aei.sagepub.com) Abstract This article describes the development of the Early Elementary Writing Rubric (EEWR), an analytic assessment designed to measure kindergarten and first-grade writing and inform educators’ instruction. Crocker and Algina’s (1986) approach to instrument development and validation was used as a guide to create and refine the writing measure. Study 1 describes the development of the 10-item measure (response scale ranges from 0 = Beginning of Kindergarten to 5 = End of First Grade). Educators participated in focus groups, expert panel review, cognitive interviews, and pretesting as part of the instrument development process. Study 2 evaluates measurement quality in terms of score reliability and validity. Data from writing samples produced by 634 students in kindergarten and first-grade classrooms were collected during pilot testing. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted to evaluate the psychometric properties of the EEWR. A onefactor model fit the data for all writing genres and all scoring elements were retained with loadings ranging from 0.49 to 0.92. Internal consistency reliability was high and ranged from .89 to .91. Interrater reliability between the researcher and participants varied from poor to good and means ranged from 52% to 72%. First-grade students received higher scores than kindergartners on all 10 scoring elements. The EEWR holds promise as an acceptable, useful, and psychometrically sound measure of early writing. Further iterative development is needed to fully investigate its ability to accurately identify the present level of student performance and to determine sensitivity to developmental and instruction gains. Keywords writing, assessment, kindergarten, first grade Although the ability to express one’s thoughts in writing is critical for success in school and the workplace, only 25% of students are proficient writers by the 8th to 12th grades (National Center for Education Statistics, 2012) . Despite the development of tools to identify young students at risk of reading difficulties (e.g., Kaminski & Good, 1998), there are only a few measures with emerging evidence of validity to assess kindergarten and first-grade writing (Coker & Ritchey, 2014; Keller-Margulis et al., 2019) . Writing assessment research rarely occurs in primary grades (Philippakos & FitzPatrick, 2018), especially in kindergarten. Because teachers find it difficult to assess writing (Feenstra, 2014), writing difficulty often goes undiscovered (White, 2013) . The classroom teacher has a critical role in identifying students who have difficulty responding to core instruction (Bondie et al., 2019). Accurate measures of writing development are needed to plan for differentiated core instruction and tiered interventions to reduce academic difficulties in children at risk (Coker & Ritchey, 2014) . Educators need a valid and reliable measure of writing to assess student response to instruction (Lembke et al., 2010); to identify which skills are mastered, emerging, or absent; and to maximize the effectiveness of instruction (McMaster et al., 2017) . Technical Adequacy of Assessments All assessments must meet technical requirements of validity and reliability (American Educational Research Association [AERA] et al., 2014; Romig et al., 2017) . 1 University of South Florida, Tampa, USA Corresponding Author: Meaghan McKenna, Departme

FAQs

What is the Early Elementary Writing Rubric (EEWR) designed to do?

The EEWR is an analytic assessment created to measure kindergarten and first-grade writing and inform educators’ instruction.

How was the EEWR developed and validated?

The development followed an instrument development and validation framework, using a 10-item measure, educator focus groups, expert panel review, cognitive interviews, and pretesting. Measurement quality was then evaluated using psychometric analyses.

What do the results show about the EEWR’s measurement quality?

Exploratory factor analysis supported a one-factor model across writing genres, internal consistency reliability was high (.89–.91), and interrater reliability ranged from poor to good (means about 52%–72%). First-grade students scored higher than kindergarteners across scoring elements.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aran