The "Effectiveness of Early Literacy Instruction: Summary of 20 Years of Research" study examined information about evidence-based practices that are essential for early childhood educators and policymakers as they support preschool children's language and literacy development. The study used a process modeled after the What Works…

The Writer's Workshop is an approach to writing instruction using a workshop model. It is being implemented in kindergarten to fourth-grade in the Houston Independent School District. The Writer's Workshop sought to improve students' writing through teacher preparation by accommodating weaker students in research-based approaches that treat…

The National Writing Project (NWP) is the nation's premier professional development network dedicated to improving the teaching of writing. The NWP network comprises nearly 200 local sites in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. This report presents the results of a seven-year survey study of teachers participating in NWP summer…

This study addresses the validation of a holistic English assessment process used at Cabrillo College (California). The process of prompt development, scoring rubrics, reader training, scoring, and administration procedures have remained largely unchanged over the years. This report provides new evidence on content validity, consequential and cut…

Each spring, Arizona students participate in testing as part of the state's assessment program. Elementary and middle school students in grades 3 through 8 take the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards--Dual Purpose Assessment (AIMS DPA) in reading, writing, and mathematics. These tests serve as an important measure of student achievement for…

The National Early Literacy Panel (NELP) was appointed in 2002 and carried out its work under the auspices of the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL). NELP's primary goal was to identify interventions, parenting activities, and instructional practices that promote the development of children's early literacy skills. The National Institute…

A language skills program was developed at Lake City Community College to increase remedial students' chances of academic success in college courses. The program concentrates first on developing students' speaking and listening skills and then proceeds to more complex reading and writing skills. The program provides 16 weeks of developmental study…

In 1991, a student learning outcomes assessment was conducted at Wenatchee Valley College, Washington. All English 101 students in the winter and spring quarters of 1990 wrote a 2-hour final exam. Winter quarter students wrote on the same topic while spring quarter students wrote on one of three randomly assigned topics. Five English 101…

A study was conducted by the Learning Assessment Retention Consortium (LARC) to describe the outcomes (i.e., goal satisfaction, retention, and skills acquisition) of students enrolled in remedial English writing courses in a sample of California community colleges, and to develop an evaluation model which could be used in community colleges to…