This study utilized theory proposed by Mohan, Slater, Luo, and Jaipal (2002) regarding what they refer to as the Developmental Path of Cause to examine issues of AWE score use in classroom contexts. Utilization of this model enabled this study to investigate the accuracy of the AWE scores by comparing them to ratings based on teachers’ intuition as well as to scores generated based on existing rubrics. The qualitative data collected from focus group interviews of three experienced teachers’ justifications for their intuitive evaluations of essays suggested that the Developmental Path of Cause helped teachers articulate their intuitions, identifying the core features of the model. The quantitative results showed that the grades provided by raters trained to use the Developmental Path of Cause tended to support Criterion scores more strongly than did instructor grades. The findings from this study suggest that AWE scores from Criterion not only closely correlated with teachers’ intuitions and with raters trained to use the Developmental Path of Cause, but that the use of the Developmental Path of Cause for teaching may support the use of AWE systems in the classroom context, and would help students focus on the core of a cause-effect essay: appropriateness and sophistication of causal language.