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…

Describes the development, beginning in 1988, of Vermont's portfolio-based writing assessment program, pointing out the inevitable tension in assessment programs between the need for measurement and a wish for professional development that leads to improved instruction. (SR)

The New York State Regents Competency Tests in Writing and Comprehensive Examination in English reflect the belief that the current emphasis on test results mandates that testmakers produce tests that actually test what they purport to test, reflect what educators agree should be taught, and have a beneficial influence on teaching. Prior to the…

These three booklets include the writing assessment tests of the Wisconsin Pupil Assessment Program for grades 5, 8, and 11. The first exercise in each booklet is the writing of a story using a photograph as the stimulus. The second exercise is the revision of a story written previously. The eleventh grade test also includes a third exercise:…

This report documents the Hawaii Writing Assessment, which was undertaken to identify the writing strengths and weaknesses of Hawaii's public school children in kindergarten through grade twelve and to provide a basis for improvement in curriculum and instruction. The two sections of the report contain an overview of the assessment effort and…

This manual presents information and instructions for test administrators in administering the 1998-99 version of the writing session of the Maine Educational Assessment (MEA). Sections of the manual present a checklist for test administrators; changes and reminders to the MEA for 1998-99; responsibilities of test administrators (scheduling,…

This manual presents information and instructions for principals and test coordinators in administering the 1998-99 version of the writing session of the Maine Educational Assessment (MEA). Sections of the manual present a checklist for principals/test coordinators; changes and reminders to the MEA for 1998-99; instructions for test coordinators…

This official scoring guide for writing presents details of the 6-point scoring system used in Oregon schools for the 1989-99 school year. It list attributes of students' responses to merit a score from 1 (lowest) to 6 (highest) in the areas of ideas/content, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions, and citing sources. (RS)

The results of a national survey to determine the current status of statewide writing assessments are presented in this report. Various sections of the report provide (1) an explanation of terms commonly associated with writing assessment; (2) a brief account of the status of states' writing assessments; (3) individual summaries of administrative…

This booklet is designed to assist schools or school systems in analyzing and evaluating student writing, writing instruction, and the writing program. The basic assumption is that improving the writing program needs to be a school-wide effort coordinated across K-12 grade levels, not an individual or isolated effort. After an overview and advice…

The 1981 and 1984 studies of revision, developed by the Wisconsin Pupil Assessment Program, are described in this document, which examines how well students are able to revise their own papers. Contents include an explanation of how the 1981 and 1984 evaluation criteria were created; an overview of the results of the 1984 revision study for grades…

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)

Offered as a result of suggestions by Maryland teachers, this guide serves as an instructional reference for educators on teaching functional writing at the elementary and secondary school levels. The guide was developed as a supplement to volume one; both volumes provide a comprehensive perspective to writing improvement in Maryland. The first…

This report describes the procedures followed in scoring the October 1978 Florida Minimal Writing Production Skills Assessment and reports the results of that assessment. The assessment was conducted on a sample of Florida public school students in grades 3, 5, 8, and 11. Sections include descriptions of the rating scale and scorer's guide as well…

Treating all major aspects of the writing assessment process, this manual is designed to help school districts evaluate writing in order to improve students' writing skills. The first major section of the manual presents background information on general measurement issues, such as evaluating writing ability by means of direct and indirect…