The Direct Writing Assessment (DWA) is a summative writing experience designed to assess student writing skills in the fifth and eighth grades. The DWA accounts for 5% of the U-PASS ELA score. The DWA will be administered online beginning in Spring 2010.

The USOE has contracted with Measurement Incorporated to provide Utah students with an online writing practice program, Utah Write http://www.utahwrite.com. Students can practice using an online writing tool and teachers can use the program as a formative assessment tool to improve writing instruction. After students submit writing, they, and their teacher, are given immediate feedback on their writing as both an overall score and in each of the six traits of writing: Ideas and Content, Organization, Voice, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, and Conventions. Students in grades five and eight are provided with access to this program free of charge. LEAs and schools may purchase student licenses for other grades.

Please contact Margaret Young if you need further information about the DWA or the Utah Write practice program.

Alternatively you may use your own e-mail client via:

E-Mail margaret.young@schools.utah.gov