Considerable research indicates that high-stakes accountability policies have the capacity to influence language arts instruction, particularly in urban, high-needs schools where pressure to increase test scores tends to be most acute. This article utilizes Cultural Historical Activity Theory to critically examine the constraints and affordances…

Describes several techniques of informal assessment which might supplement test results. (DD)

Discusses the deficiencies of the various methods of evaluating children's writing, especially the writing of children for whom English is not the native language. (FL)

Presents and discusses an Interactional Competency Checklist as an effective approach to the evaluation of children's oral language competence. (DD)

Contributors discuss (1) the role of teacher explanation, (2) packaged teaching programs, and (3) motivating children to write poetry. (FL)

Describes the efforts of the language arts staff of the Edmonton (Canada) Public Schools to develop statements of student outcomes that were generalizable across grade levels and tests of writing achievement based on those outcomes. (FL)

Considers the difficulties facing teachers concerning grades for students' writing. (FL)

Discusses two facets of the disparity between the way children learn and the way they are tested: the necessity of practice and the importance of prior knowledge. (FL)

Review New Zealand's language arts assessment practices at all grade levels. Suggests alternative approaches to student evaluation. (MM)

Discusses three studies that deal with instructional suggestions related to cross-age tutoring, the use of analogies, and some rethinking of a common testing practice--out-of-level testing for disabled readers. (FL)

Discusses the current state of alternative assessment programs, focusing on results of studies the authors conducted in two school districts. Shares implications for policy and for curriculum and instruction. (MG)

Discusses several observation-based methods of student assessment that are recommended in the "Primary Language Record," a book developed by schools in the Inner London Educational Authority. (MM)

Outlines principles for assessments that are supportive of teaching and learning, and discusses qualities that such assessments must have in order to be useful for reporting information to the public. Introduces a language-arts assessment (the Elementary Literacy Profiles) designed to embody these principles and qualities so that it will be…

Reviews the limitations of large-scale testing, as indicated by the Commission on Testing and Public Policy. Suggests implications for elementary language arts teachers, administrators, and teacher educators. Concludes with predictions regarding the state of assessment in the year 2000. (MG)

Describes an assessment approach designed to enable students and their parents to ask reflective questions about the student's work and to consider efficient strategies to improve that work. (MM)