Abstract of

The Word Writing CAFÉ: Assessing Student Writing for Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency

Dorothy J. Leal

The Word Writing CAFÉ is a new assessment tool designed for teachers to evaluate objectively students' word-writing ability for fluency, accuracy, and complexity. It is designed to be given to the whole class at one time. This article describes the development of the CAFÉ and provides directions for administering and scoring it. The author also describes typical scores by grade level and sex for one study of first- through sixth-grade students in three schools. Scores increased by grade level, and increasing gains were noted over grade levels for girls. The article also reports the 20 most commonly written words for each grade level.

Teachers using the CAFÉ report that it is a quick and useful way to document student progress in word writing and to gain insight into individual student's strengths and weaknesses. The author includes an invitation for teachers to participate in a national study of the CAFÉ with 1st- through 12th-grade students.

Abstract from Leal, D.J. (2005, December). The Word Writing CAFÉ: Assessing Student Writing for Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency. The Reading Teacher, 59(4), 340–350. doi: 10.1598/RT.59.4.4