Discusses problems in designing and interpreting research on the effects of topics used in essay exams, particularly minimum competency exams. Reviews current research on the effects of topics and their presentation. (HTH)

Discusses the results of a survey to gather information on the state of the art of testing writing proficiency at the college level. According to the results, many respondents did note positive side effects of the unprecedented growth in testing, particularly its influence on the direction of writing curricula. (HTH)

Provides background information on the move toward competency testing in composition and the subsequent implications for college writing instructors. Examines problems inherent to developing a comptency based program at the college level and what composition teachers need to be aware of regarding such testing. (HTH)

Discusses the growing interest in competency testing in writing at the college level, the growing dependence on minimal essays as the norm for "correct" composition, and the resulting decline in grace and style in college composition. (Author/HTH)

Reports on an experiment designed to identify positive variables in the essay writing of Black college students and to use the variables in a new writing course. Suggests that instruction in concepts, skills, and relationships, when combined with consideration of students' diagnosed needs, can result in writing improvement. (AOS)

Reported in this monograph are the results from a survey of composition teachers in the City University of New York (CUNY). The questionnaire used for the survey sought (1) to obtain quantitative data about teachers' instructional practices and about their perceptions of the impact of the Writing Skills Assessment Test (WSAT) of minimum writing…

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…

This booklet by a committee appointed to assess the teaching implications of the Reading and Writing tests of the New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Test (NJCBSPT) is intended to provide ways of helping teachers assist students to improve their skills in reading and writing by, in part, pinpointing the major weaknesses of students taking…

In order to establish competency based entrance requirements for freshman composition, a midwestern university sampled six freshman composition and four basic writing classes for errors in their essay writing. ACT English and social studies scores and several reading scores were also gathered. All this data was computer analyzed by the multiple…

The development of the City University of New York's writing assessment test is discussed in this paper. Its relationship to the total freshman skills assessment program, which also involves the assessment of minimal competencies in mathematics and reading, is related. The discussion of the test includes descriptions of the test development…

A review of the literature on the effects upon student writing performance of variations in essay examination topics reveals that such research is sparce and that most of it has been done in the past 5 years. The review, which was conducted as part of a project to develop the writing test portion of the Florida Teacher Certification Examination,…

The seven articles in this journal issue deal with the politics and practice of teaching writing. The articles focus on the following topics: (1) efforts to establish educational accountability, including competency based teacher education, licensing of teachers, and minimum competency testing; (2) methods for teaching students to use intuition in…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 30 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) cognitive predictors of writing ability, (2) peer evaluation and teacher evaluation of the first drafts of high school compositions, (3) writing as a tool for…