What is it?
The CriterionSM Online Writing Evaluation service is a self-paced instructional writing practice tool that offers almost immediate feedback on essay-writing performance for students at grade 4 through adult levels. In less than 20 seconds after submitting their essay, students and their instructors receive a holistic score and annotated diagnostic feedback.

Who uses it?
Teachers and students just need an internet connection to access the service; the Criterion service is PC and Mac compatible. ETS offers per-student subscriptions for this web-based service to schools and school districts, academic institutions, online learning and assessment providers, and related service networks.

And to help teachers understand how the Criterion Online Writing Evaluation service can significantly increase students' scores and writing abilities, ETS provides a downloadable Criterion Sample Report Book(PDF). Teachers can see how easy it is to evaluate, discuss, and track each student’s progress towards improved writing scores.

How does the Criterion service help teachers and students?
The Criterion service gives teachers a tool to enhance writing instruction and provides students unlimited opportunities to improve their writing skills by submitting essays. Because the Criterion service is offered online, teachers and students can access it from school, home, or anywhere with an internet connection.

Students practice their writing and can make unlimited essay revisions in a non-threatening environment that encourages discussion with their teachers about the writing process; students can also receive comments via a private message board. Students can easily access numerous features, including an annotated version of their essay with both a holistic score and detailed diagnostic feedback in trait areas of Grammar, Usage, Mechanics, Style, and Organization & Development. A context-sensitive Writer’s Handbook is embedded for reference.

Teachers may select a topic from the Criterion library or create their own topic. The Criterion library encompasses grade-school to graduate-level topics, including English Language Learner prompts for high school and adult students.

The Criterion service is a very flexible tool that enables teachers to target instruction. It generates detailed reports so that teachers can easily track both student and class progress.