Describes the Colorado Writing Assessment Program, a testing program that provides two kinds of feedback to teachers and students: (1) a holistic score that measures the general quality of writing and (2) a set of scores on analytic scales that reflect students' achievement in four areas. Concludes that the program works. (FL)

A cognitive process approach is applied to this discussion of the nature and relationship of skills, thinking, and social studies knowledge. To make understanding explicit, the paper addresses: (1) the meaning of cognitive skills and their role in thinking; (2) generic versus specific skills; and (3) implications for the National Assessment of…

This paper discusses higher-order cognitive skills, provides examples of appropriate test item content in various subject areas, and describes higher-level cognitive skills which might be tested by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Higher-order cognitive skills are said to be more difficult to measure than simpler skills;…