How to Evaluate Children's Writing

My third-grader is always being asked to write in class. While he has very nice handwriting, the content seems more like that of a first-grader. How can I tell if his writing is really on grade level? -- Curious
Answer: First of all, you need to realize the third-graders are not very sophisticated writers. Plus, their writing can be full of spelling and mechanical errors. Nor will they always stick to a topic or group sentences into paragraphs.
The teacher probably has provided a general evaluation of your son's writing on his latest report card. You might not have more information than "expresses thoughts well in writing" with a check mark under such levels as commendable, satisfactory or needs improvement. For more detailed information, you can have a chat with your child's teacher. The teacher might even show you some samples of other students' writing so you can compare your son's efforts with those of other children's.
There is a very informative website -- www.readingrockets.org/looking_at_writing -- where you can click on your child's level in school, from pre-k through third grade, and see examples of children's writing. There also is an explanation of why some children are poor writers and others are proficient.