Training teachers to evaluate emerging bilingual students’ biliterate writing

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to explore and identify issues related to training teachers to use a bilingual writing rubric designed to examine the biliterate writing of emerging bilingual students who are participating in a biliteracy model. Findings indicate the need to provide clarifications on the rubric rating criteria and the need to pay attention to the differences between Spanish and English rhetoric, as teachers had lower levels of consensus when they rated Spanish content. This finding also indicates a need to revise the rubric itself. High levels of consensus were reached when teachers rated spelling and structural elements in both languages. When conducting an analysis of students’ Spanish and English writing, teachers noted students’ ability to transfer writing abilities across languages. This study is significant to the advancement of this biliteracy model and to the education of emerging bilingual students. It is also important to develop a shared vision of what it means to be...