Responding to Writing Benchmark Data

After the Benchmark window closes, administrators play a key role in helping teachers turn results into action. This article outlines best practices for guiding teachers in interpreting data, identifying strengths and areas for growth, and assigning targeted NoRedInk activities to help students improve their writing before the next Benchmark.

Help Teachers Review and Reflect on Benchmark Data

Provide time in department or PLC meetings for teachers to:

• Interpret class and student results
• Identify strengths and priority areas for targeted instruction
• Select priority rubric criteria to focus on before the next Benchmark
   

Guide Teachers in Planning Follow-Up Instruction

Encourage teachers to focus on 2–3 priority rubric criteria before the next Benchmark, supported by a balance of targeted Practice and Writing application spread across the available weeks.

As teachers identify high-need gaps from Benchmark data, they can:

1. Use premade Lessons and Tutorials to introduce or review the writing skills students most need to strengthen.
2. Assign targeted Practice to help students work toward mastery of the priority writing skills. Refer to the following chart for Skill-Building Modules aligned to Grading Assistant rubric criteria:

Grading Assistant Rubric Criteria	Skill-Building Modules
Thesis	Thesis Statements
Topic Sentences	Topic Sentences
Evidence	Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning
Reasoning/Explanation	Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning
Counterargument	Counterargument Paragraphs
Conclusion/Closing	Conclusion Paragraphs
Organization	Transition Words and Phrases

 

💡 Tip: For genre-aligned practice, teachers can also refer to NoRedInk Pathway Recommendations for Different Writing Genres.

3. Assign writing activities so students can practice the writing skills assessed on the Benchmark. For the most targeted learning, select assignments in the same genre as the Benchmark.
   • Assign Quick Writes to help students apply writing skills in short, focused tasks.
   • Assign Guided Short Responses and/or Guided Essays to give students structured opportunities to practice the writing skills required on the Benchmark, with support from tutorials, model writing, and targeted tips. 
   • Provide feedback aligned to the priority rubric criteria so students understand what to improve and can apply that feedback in their next piece of writing.

💡 Tip: Teachers can use Grading Assistant to streamline the feedback process! Learn about NoRedInk's Grading Assistant.

Monitor Implementation

To ensure that teachers are leveraging this data regularly, you should schedule monthly meetings with your Customer Success Manager to review Premium Report data. If there are schools that are not meeting the outlined expectations, you'll need to schedule targeted training sessions for those schools.

Share Helpful Resources

To make it easy for teachers to find relevant assignments, direct them to the following genre-aligned resources, which include Practices, Quick Writes, Guided Short Responses, and Guided Essays:

• Resources for Argumentative Writing
• Resources for Expository/Informational Writing
• Resources for Literary Analysis Writing
• Resources for Compare and Contrast Writing (Text Analysis)
• Resources for Poetry Analysis Writing
• Resources for Rhetorical Analysis Writing