What this rubric measures
The MCAP Informative/Explanatory Writing Rubric, Grades 4–5 is the official scoring guide used to evaluate student writing on Maryland MCAP assessments. It is an Holistic rubric that scores responses across 2 distinct criteria, allowing teachers to give precise, targeted feedback on each area of writing.
All 2 scoring criteria
Click any criterion to expand its score level descriptors. The language below is taken verbatim from the official Maryland State Department of Education MCAP scoring guide.
1 Written Expression
The response demonstrates the following:
- Demonstrates a full and complete understanding of ideas in the texts by providing an accurate analysis supported with effective and convincing textual evidence.
- Examines a topic and conveys ideas and information accurately and clearly.
- Develops clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
- Includes ideas that are presented clearly and logically from beginning to end; there are strong connections between and among ideas.
The response demonstrates the following:
- Demonstrates an adequate understanding of ideas in the texts by providing a mostly accurate analysis supported with adequate textual evidence.
- Examines a topic and conveys ideas and information clearly.
- Develops mostly clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are mostly appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
- Includes ideas that are presented from beginning to end; there are connections between and among ideas.
The response demonstrates the following:
- Demonstrates basic understanding of ideas in the texts by providing a generally accurate analysis supported with basic textual evidence.
- Examines a topic and generally conveys ideas and information.
- Develops generally clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are generally appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
- Includes ideas that are generally clear and logical but may be uneven; there are general connections between and among ideas.
The response demonstrates the following:
- Demonstrates limited understanding of ideas in the texts by providing a minimally accurate analysis supported with limited textual evidence.
- Shows limited examination of the topic and minimally conveys ideas and information.
- Shows limited development of writing in which the development, organization, and style are limited to task, purpose, and audience.
- Includes ideas that are limited; there are minimally effective connections between and among ideas.
The response demonstrates the following:
- Demonstrates no understanding of ideas in the texts. The response provides inaccurate or no analysis and no textual evidence.
- Examines and conveys missing or inaccurate ideas and information.
- Lacks coherent writing, organization, and style for the task, purpose, and audience.
- Includes ideas that are inappropriate, inaccurate, or ideas are missing; there are few or no connections between and among ideas.
This holistic rubric guides the evaluation of a student response by providing descriptions of sample characteristics for each score point. A score is based on an overall analysis of what is included in a student's response rather than what is missing. It is not necessary for a response to include all the sample characteristics.
2 Written Conventions
The response demonstrates the following:
- The response demonstrates a full command of conventions of standard English at the appropriate level of complexity.
- Sentence structures are varied, well-formed, and effectively controlled.
- Grammar and usage are strong and effective, enhancing the content of the response.
- Spelling, punctuation, and capitalization are mostly correct.
The response demonstrates the following:
- The response demonstrates a partial command of conventions of standard English at the appropriate level of complexity.
- Sentence structures show some variety and are generally controlled.
- Grammar and usage may be uneven and may occasionally impede understanding.
- Spelling, punctuation, and capitalization are generally correct.
The response demonstrates the following:
- The response demonstrates little command of conventions of standard English at the appropriate level of complexity.
- Sentence structure and control are limited.
- Errors in grammar and usage may be frequent and may impede understanding.
- Spelling, punctuation, and capitalization may be incorrect and/or unclear.
The response demonstrates the following:
- The response does not demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English at the appropriate level of complexity.
- Frequent and varied errors in mechanics, grammar, and usage impede understanding.
The MCAP Written Conventions sub-scale is identical across every genre and grade band. Descriptors are verbatim from the MSDE 2023 to 2024 rubric.
How to score with the MCAP Informative/Explanatory Writing Rubric, Grades 4–5.
A practical guide for teachers and norming teams. How to apply each descriptor consistently, the pitfalls that hurt inter-rater reliability, and a workflow for calibrating with colleagues.
Two-trait holistic, scored independently
- Score Written Expression (0 to 4) first, then Written Conventions (0 to 3). Sum for the rubric total out of 7.
- Score holistically based on the overall response. The four sample characteristics describe what writing at each score point looks like across understanding, topic examination, development, and connections.
- A response does not need to satisfy every sample characteristic to earn a given score. Read the response, then pick the score-point description that fits best overall.
What the Informative descriptors expect at Grades 4-5
- A topic must be examined and ideas conveyed accurately and clearly at the top score. The 3 allows for clear but not fully accurate examination; the 2 is general but uneven; the 1 is limited.
- Source-based analysis is the first sample characteristic at every score above 0. Effective and convincing textual evidence is what separates 4 from 3.
- Strong connections between and among ideas push the response toward 4. Basic or general connections fit 3 or 2.
Common pitfalls to avoid
- Awarding 4 to a response that lists information accurately but does not analyze the sources. The first sample characteristic at 4 expects analysis supported by convincing textual evidence.
- Counting paragraph length or quantity of details as adequate evidence. The MCAP rubric expects evidence to be effective and convincing, not just present.
- Confusing Informative with Opinion. The Informative rubric does not include a point-of-view characteristic; ideas and information are conveyed accurately and clearly, not argued.
Tips for norming with your team
- Anchor with 3 to 5 sample responses scored by your most experienced grader before the session.
- Score the first 5 silently, then compare. Discuss any trait where graders are more than one point apart.
- Re-norm halfway through a long batch. Drift is real, especially on the 0 to 3 Conventions scale.
Notes for the MCAP Informative/Explanatory Rubric, Grades 4–5
MCAP Informative/Explanatory at Grades 4-5 expects students to examine a topic and convey ideas and information based on the provided source texts. The rubric does not include a point-of-view or claim expectation; this is not argumentative writing.
The Grades 4-5 rubric uses the 0 to 4 Written Expression scale. The Grade 3 rubric is structurally similar but compresses the top two levels into a single 3-point score. The Grades 6-8/10 Informative rubric adds a complex-ideas descriptor (effective selection, organization, and analysis of content).
Written Conventions on MCAP is identical across every grade band and genre. A mechanically clean response earns a 3 on Conventions regardless of which Written Expression score it receives.
MCAP scoring is holistic. Graders identify the score-point description that fits the response overall rather than scoring each sample characteristic separately.
See this rubric in action.
EnlightenAI scores student writing on this exact rubric, with per-criterion feedback that mirrors how you grade by hand. The sample response below shows how the rubric applies to a real piece of student writing, scored against every criterion.
How honeybees help farmers grow our food
Many people see bees and think of stings, but bees do something really important. Honeybees help farmers grow a lot of the food that we eat, by carrying pollen from plant to plant, by helping fruits and vegetables form, and by visiting many different crops every day.
Bees carry pollen
The first article explains that bees fly from flower to flower to drink nectar. When they land on a flower, pollen sticks to their bodies. Then they bring that pollen to the next flower. This is called pollination. Without pollination, many plants cannot make fruit.
Pollination helps plants make food
The second article says that almonds, apples, and blueberries all need bees to make their fruit. One farmer in California said that without honeybees, his almond trees would only grow a small number of nuts. That means a lot of the food in grocery stores depends on bees.
Bees visit many crops
The article also explains that one bee colony can visit thousands of flowers in a single day. Farmers sometimes rent bee hives so the bees can pollinate their fields. This helps the bees because they get food, and it helps the farmers because they get more crops.
Conclusion
Honeybees carry pollen, help plants grow fruit, and visit many flowers every day. Without them, farmers would have a much harder time growing food. The next time you see a bee, remember that it might be helping make your lunch.
Accurate analysis, effective evidence, strong connections
Full understanding of ideas from both source texts with accurate analysis (pollination process). Effective textual evidence (California almond example, colony-visits detail). Clear examination of topic with strong logical connections. Earns the top Written Expression score.
Full command of Grades 4–5 conventions
Sentence structures are varied and well-formed. Capitalization, punctuation, and spelling are correct throughout. Grammar and usage are strong. A few minor moments do not interfere with meaning. Earns full credit on the 0 to 3 Conventions scale.
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About the MCAP Informative/Explanatory Writing Rubric, Grades 4–5
What is the MCAP Informative/Explanatory Writing Rubric for Grades 4 to 5?
How is MCAP Informative different from MCAP Opinion at Grades 4-5?
How is the Grades 4-5 Informative rubric different from the Grades 6-8/10 version?
Is this rubric the official version from MSDE?
Where can I find the source document?
Can EnlightenAI score student writing using this rubric?
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