Outrageously Good Diagnostic Writing Test
Limited time offer: purchase Diagnostic Writing Test and get a FREE Writer's Toolbox trial.*
There’s no magic wand to fix your school’s writing problems. For the right sort of intervention, you need to work with sound information. Get laser-like insights into what each student needs with the most comprehensive writing assessment in the market—all curriculum-aligned. We’ll even do the marking for you.
Interested? Register below and get a FREE Writer's Toolbox trial with Diagnostic Writing Test purchase.*
Why Diagnostic Testing
A diagnostic writing test provides school leaders, teachers, and students with the most comprehensive diagnostic writing data presently available. Not only will you make better decisions, you will be able to accurately report value add—and give your students the best opportunity of educational success.
How Is This Test Different?
Our flagship diagnostic writing test is called the Composition Skills Index (CSI). It was developed in 2015 in response to schools wanting more accurate and detailed information about the state of their students’ writing performance.
School leaders expressed frustration that other testing regimes were subject to bias, or merely told schools their students had a writing problem, but never offered guidance on how to remedy those problems. Or, in the case of senior students, there was no available writing test to guide interventions. Consequently, schools were relying on examination results, which came too late to alter the outcomes for that student.
The Composition Skills Index (CSI) has changed all that, and for many schools the CSI Test is now the diagnostic writing test of choice.
What the Composition Skills Index Measures
The Composition Skills Index (CSI) is designed to analyse a broader range of writing behaviours and skills than any test has been able to do so to date. Other writing tests provide information on surface features: word choice, technical errors, grammar, punctuation, spelling, or the choice of simple or complex sentences. We understand that schools wanted more.
Accordingly, the advanced methodology applied to the analysis of the Composition Skills Index was purposely designed to remove teacher bias and give schools objective data on the largest set of writing behaviours possible.
Report to School and Educators
Every one of the above metrics is reported back to your school. After years of testing and research, at Writer's Toolbox we know the expected ability levels of the above indicators for every year of schooling. We can tell you if your students are at their expected ability level, above their ability level, or performing below their expected ability level in writing. Plus, if remedial work is needed, we tell you what to do. That’s a first.
What Do I Get?
You will get a school level report that provides objective and clear information to school leaders and classroom teachers on every writing metric. You will see the patterns across your school cohorts, and we will interpret this information for you. You will receive a detailed profile of every student tested in your school, showing clear areas of strength, and areas for improvement.
Then based on your school’s data, we give you actionable recommendations to help guide your school’s interventions and writing improvement strategies. Because the reason we do all of this—every day—is to see better educational outcomes for our students: richer data, more targeted interventions, better educational outcomes.
*Offer Terms and Conditions
Offer available to new schools only. Writer's Toolbox free trial only available with Diagnostic Writing Test purchase. A minimum purchase of 100 tests applies. Offer ends 30 August 2024. Diagnostic Testing is available for Years 4 and up.