Ruberic 1

Exhibit B-1

Draft Letter to Summer Institute Site Directors

Dear Summer Institute Director:

I am writing to inform you that the National Writing Project (NWP) Summer Institute at <<summer institute site name>> has been randomly selected to participate in an important new data collection that will provide the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and Congress with needed information about the NWP program. In compliance with the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), ED is required to collect and report on the performance of all programs funded with federal dollars. As you may know, the NWP program at <<summer institute site name>> is partially funded through a federal grant to the National Writing Project, located at the University of California at Berkeley.

ED is requesting that <<institute name>> prepare and submit the following materials to its contractor, Synergy.

• An Institute Folder containing materials developed for the summer 2008 training session that describe what will take place at the summer institute. The folder should contain the syllabus for the training session, and one or two supporting documents that reflect the content of the institute. These should be existing documents that reflect factors such as the course goals/description, course assignments, project descriptions, writing requirements, and/or reading requirements/institute anthology. These documents should not include grant applications, annual reports, or statistical information.

• A list of teachers attending the summer 2008 training session. This list will be requested at the start of the summer institute and should include only those teachers in attendance. Any teacher who applied but decided not to attend should not be included on the list. (A sample of teachers will be drawn, contacted separately, and asked to provide copies of lesson plans and writing assignments.)

The information being collected is meant to strengthen data reporting for the NWP and thus help measure the NWP program’s progress toward meeting its overall goal of improving the quality of student writing and learning. Two new measures have been developed to report on various aspects of the quality of NWP’s process to meet this goal (i.e., training teachers to teach writing). The two new GPRA measures for the NWP program covered by this request are:

• The percentage of NWP summer institute training syllabi deemed to be of high quality by an independent review panel of qualified experts

• The percentage of NWP summer institute training session participants who improve the quality of the writing assignments given, as demonstrated through an independent review of lesson plans by a panel of qualified experts

Exhibit B-1 continued

The information collected will be reviewed by a panel of writing experts identified by ED. Although the participation of <<summer institute site name>> in this data collection is voluntary, without your help ED will not have the information it needs to monitor the program and report that information to Congress. All information you provide will be kept strictly confidential. Individual sites and teachers will not be identified in any reports about the program.

Thank you for your cooperation and participation in providing this important information to Congress for the NWP program. If you have any questions please contact <<contact name>> at Synergy, our contractor. He/She can be reached at xxx-xxx-xxxx or <<email address>>. You can also reach me at (202) 260-3548 or at Margarita.Melendez@ed.gov.

Sincerely,

Margarita L. Meléndez

NWP Program Manager

U.S. Department of Education

Enclosure

OMB #: xxxxxxxxx

Exp.:

Assignment Cover Sheet

Instructions: Please attach this sheet to the front of each selected assignment and provide the following information.

Grade Level(s):

Subject area:

Class/Course level:

Timeframe for assignment:

Assessment method:

OMB #: xxxxxxxxxxx

Exp.

Considering the dimensions and corresponding indicators below, assess the quality of the institute in accomplishing the NWP goals as demonstrated through the Institute Folder.

The NWP Institute Goals:

1. To improve student writing and learning in K-16 classrooms

2. To extend the uses of writing that is transferable across grades and subject areas

3. To provide an effective development plan

4. To build on the role of successful classroom teachers.

Dimension	Indicators	Points
Course Design	The expert panel will take into consideration the extent to which the institute’s course design:  is grounded in what current research indicates is a good model for teaching writing to adult learners  builds upon the expertise of classroom teachers from different grades and subject areas  provides adequate time for teachers to acquire, practice, and reflect on new concepts and skills	/ 20
Instructional Approaches	The expert panel will take into consideration the extent to which the institute’s instructional approaches used in the course:  are based on best practices for teaching writing to adult learners  reflect current research or professional wisdom on approaches for teaching teachers  provide opportunities to demonstrate newly-learned strategies across grade and subject areas	/ 30
Course Content	The expert panel will take into consideration the extent to which the institute’s course content:  draws on accepted theories on how to teach writing  includes research-informed instructional strategies for embedding and extending K-16 student writing  teaches methods of assessment that align with current best practices in K-16 writing assessment  teaches institute participants how to use assessment findings to guide instruction in K-16 student writing and learning  helps participants develop a quality professional development plan to improve K-16 writing in their home district and schools	/ 30
Methods of Assessment	The expert panel will take into consideration how well the institute’s methods of assessment:  provide feedback to participants about their own command of writing  provide feedback to participants on how to improve student writing and learning	/ 20
Presentation	The expert panel will take into consideration the overall presentation of materials. Deduct up to 5 points for poor presentation including typographical and grammatical errors.
	Total Points	/ 100