The Connecticut Assessment of Educational Progress assesses writing traits using different approaches to diagnose students' skills. These include multiple choice, direct assessment, "revising test," dictation, and note-taking. These measures and scoring guides are used to assess several elements of good writing. (DWH)

The history of direct writing assessment and scoring procedures in South Carolina are discussed. The South Carolina Basic Skills Assessment Program Writing Committee developed writing objectives for students. Holistic and analytic scoring procedures were used. Information on instructional improvement and student deficiencies was distributed to…

The North Carolina Writing Assessment, which is part of the state's End-of-Grade testing program, requires students in grades 4 and 7 to write essays in response to a standardized prompt. This report contains results for the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS). Fourth grade writing assessment scores across North Carolina rose in 1999, and in…

Texas Assessment of Basic Skills tests are criterion-referenced measures administered to students in grades 3, 5, and 9. Written compositions are part of the test battery and are scored holistically. The Texas approach to measuring written composition consists of elements including magnitude, scoring system, and effect on instruction. (DWH)

The Maryland Functional Writing Program is designed to increase student performance in writing through improved instructional and assessment procedures. The Declared Competencies Index lists two writing goals supported by 39 objectives. A combination of direct and indirect writing assessment is used. (DWH)

The Registered Holistic Scoring Method, which has been used for one year to score the ninth grade writing test of the New Jersey High School Proficiency Test, is described. Registered Holistic Scoring was developed from the previous holistic approach in order to provide more reliable scoring guidelines year after year. Two trained evaluators…

The efforts of researchers to produce a pool of approximately 30 validated and field-tested topics for use in future administrations of the Florida Teacher Certification Examination in writing are reviewed in this paper. Various sections of the paper (1) describe the procedures followed; (2) explain the reasons for making certain important…

In 1972, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia instituted the Regents' Testing Program (RTP) to provide systemwide information on the status of student competence in reading and writing and to provide a uniform means of identifying those students who fail to attain minimum levels of competence in these areas. Since 1972, some…

The Illinois Inventory of Educational Progress (IIEP) writing assessment is designed to assess students' knowledge and skills on curricular benchmarks. The Rating Guide for Functional Writing is criterion-referenced. The IIEP is neither mandated by statute nor connected to graduation requirements. Randomly selected students are tested each year.…

A statewide sample testing of writing skills in the fourth, seventh, and tenth grades was conducted by the Michigan Educational Assessment Program in the fall of 1982. This report, which shares the writing assessment information (historical, descriptive, and interpretive) for educational decision-making, was prepared in the hope of increasing…

The third administration of the California State University and Colleges Freshman English Equivalency Examination, a test consisting of an objective examination graded by the Educational Testing Service and an essay examination scored by California State University and College faculty, is analyzed in this report. After a short preface, the first…

The fourth administration of the California State University and Colleges Freshman English Equivalency Examination, a test consisting of an objective examination graded by the Educational Testing Service and an essay examination scored by California State University and College faculty, is analyzed in this report. After a short index of previous…

The fifth administration of the California State University and Colleges Freshman English Equivalency Examination, a test consisting of an objective examination graded by the Educational Testing Service and an essay examination scored by California State University and College faculty, is analyzed in this report. After a short index of previous…

The sixth administration of the California State University and Colleges Freshman English Equivalency Examination, a test consisting of an objective examination scored by California State University and College faculty, is analyzed in this report. After a preface and short index of previous volumes, the first section of the report contains a…

The seventh administration of the California State University and Colleges Freshman English Equivalency Examination, a test consisting of an objective examination graded by the Educational Testing Service and an essay examination scored by California State University and College faculty, is analyzed in this report. After a preface and short index…