The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), establishes requirements for State educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) to prepare and disseminate report cards that provide information on State, LEA, and school performance and progress in an understandable…

Editing and revising is a necessary, yet complex, stage of the writing process that is challenging for students with and without disabilities. One solution to improve overall writing outcomes is with strategy instruction, such as the Strategic Instruction Model for writing. More specifically, strategies such as the Error Monitoring Strategy, that…

This study examined and compared different written corrective feedback techniques used by English as a second language (ESL) teachers in three different educational contexts and levels (primary, secondary, and college) in Quebec, Canada. In particular, it examined whether there were any differences in the types of errors made, the kind and degree…

Many students with learning disabilities (LD) and emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) struggle with the writing process. Technology has shown to be effective in supporting prewriting, drafting, revising, proofreading, and publishing of written products. This article explains the use of one technology-based graphic organizer with embedded…

The Case Study Compilation was developed with and for educators to provide examples of practice related to three questions: (1) What does it mean to focus on social-emotional development and the creation of positive learning environments?; (2) How can educators integrate their approaches to social, emotional, and academic development?; and (3)…

This comparative study investigated the productivity and the process of written composition in students with and without disabilities between 8 and 16 years of age. Participants were assigned to four groups as follows: (a) 59 with both attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) and writing learning disabilities (WLD), (b) 40 with ADHD, (c)…

When the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were adopted in many states, it was only one piece of the pie called Race to the Top (RttT). As states competed and clamored to win the Race to the Top dollars, they knew it came with strings attached. The biggest piece of string is called APPR, or Annual Professional Performance Review--and it is more…

Writing is a complex activity that requires transcription and self-regulation. We used multiple-group structural equation modeling to test the contribution of transcription (handwriting and spelling), planning, revision, and self-efficacy to writing quality at 2 developmental points (Grades 4-6 vs. 7-9). In Grades 4-6, the model explained 76% of…

In professional writing, usability testing investigates how well users can find, understand, and use a document (Lannon). Usability testing involves gathering feedback from users, analyzing how successfully they used the document, and drawing on the test results to change or refine the design. From the authors' experiences as writers and teachers,…

This study investigated the use of a wiki for collaborative writing among primary levels five (P5) and six (P6) students (n = 119) in a Chinese primary school in Hong Kong where English is taught as a second language (L2). Three classes of students and their English subject teachers participated in a three-month English language writing programme…

This article provides recommendations for teachers to better prepare 3rd through 12th grade students with learning disabilities for large-scale writing assessments. The variation across large-scale writing assessments and the multiple needs of struggling writers indicate the need for test preparation to be embedded within a comprehensive,…

For more than four decades the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has tracked the achievement of U.S. students in major academic subjects. This national resource is the only assessment that states and now many urban districts can look to as an objective yardstick of their performance over time, relative to national benchmarks, and…

I use Burkean analysis to show how neoliberalism undermines faculty assessment expertise and underwrites testing industry expertise in the current assessment scene. Contending that we cannot extricate ourselves from our limited agency in this scene until we abandon the familiar "stakeholder" theory of power, I propose a rewriting of the…

Award-winning author Carolyn Coman has made a career out of writing stories for children and young adults as well as teaching writing to people of all ages. She believes that the essence of good writing, no matter the genre, is the ability to craft a solid story. In this innovative book, Carolyn provides advice, strategies, and inspiration…

On April 8, 2011, the U.S. Department of Education (USED) published in the Federal Register new proposed amendments to regulations implementing the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The notice invites public comments on the proposed regulations, which are due no later than May 23, 2011. The proposed regulations are designed to…