The Individual with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) 2007, a federal special education law, states that students with disabilities requiring special education services can use accommodations or adaptations of the curriculum to access the general education curriculum. A shortened assignment, as an accommodation, can help learning disabled…

A university-wide secondary credential program (middle and high school) has engaged in systemic reform through professional development for content faculty to better equip prospective secondary teacher candidates for supporting the academic and social needs of English language learners (ELLs), particularly in urban schools. Data from five years of…

This dissertation reports on a study investigating the identity of first-year university students as writers. The longitudinal project explored how students from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds construct their identities as undergraduates and as academic writers in their first year. The research was qualitative and interpretative, and used…

In the May 2009 issue of "English Journal", we reported on our analysis of data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress to provide a first look at changes in the teaching of writing over the past 30 years. In this article, we provide a more detailed look, drawing on data collected from visits to 260 English, math, social…

Our recent review of content assessments revealed that language expectations and proficiencies are often implicitly embedded within the assessment criteria. Based on a review of performance assessments used in high school biology settings, we have found a recurring discrepancy between assessment scoring criteria and performance expectations. …