College professors, administrators, admission officers, and other higher education leaders expect students to arrive at college ready and able to write, as it is among the most critical skills for college success. Knowing when writing is a weakness for a student and when additional instruction or support is needed is essential for advancing…

This report concludes a multiyear series of implementation studies intended to inform the California State University (CSU) system about the implementation of Executive Order 1110 (EO 1110). A major policy established in 2017, EO 1110 requires CSU campuses to eliminate noncredit developmental courses (often known as "remedial" courses)…

This study investigates the interrelatedness the English as a foreign language demotivation factors of learning difficulties, threats to self-worth, monotonous teaching, poor student-teacher relationships, and learners' proficiency in critical reading and writing. Eighty (n =80) EFL learners participated in the study. The rationale for the study…

The SAT is a national college entrance examination offered by the College Board and consists of three parts: Mathematics, Critical Reading, and Writing. The top score for each part is 800, for a total possible score of 2400. Colleges use SAT scores, in conjunction with other tools, to measure students' potential for success at the postsecondary…

The Advanced Placement® (AP®) Program offers high school students the opportunity to take rigorous coursework in high school and receive college credit for AP Exam scores that meet or exceed the requirements of their attending institution. Students receiving AP credit are typically exempted from an introductory level course or series of courses…

This article discusses our university's attempt to analyze whether our system of First Year Writing placement serves the needs of our diverse student body. The theory behind Directed Self Placement (DSP) is appealing, so our program adopted a modified version of it, and after several years, decided to evaluate it quantitatively. The authors, a…

The study applied the Multi-Dimensional analysis used by Biber (1988) to examine the functional parameters of essays. Co-occurrence patterns were identified within an essay corpus (n=1529) using a linguistic indices provided by Co-Metrix. These patterns were used to identify essay groups that shared features based upon situational parameters.…

The purpose of this study was to reveal whether there is a relationship between students' volume of text messaging and formal writing performance on the Scholastic Aptitude Test writing section. The study also examined gender as a contributing variable in this measure. As a supplementary correlation, student text message volume was also compared…

Effective writing skills are important for success in college, work, and for society. Although there is little argument about the importance of communication skills, there is more debate about whether or not students and graduates are actually attaining these skills. An examination of the impact of completing the college composition course on…

This study examines the stability of the "SAT Reasoning Test"™ score scales from 2005 to 2010. A 2005 old form (OF) was administered along with a 2010 new form (NF). A new conversion for OF was derived through direct equipercentile equating. A comparison of the newly derived and the original OF conversions showed that Critical Reading…

When children write plays, their wishes, fears, and secrets face an audience. An audience is not a do-gooder making nice. It is not an authority figure with a grudge against one's race or class. When it laughs at the jokes or applauds, it can be trusted. It is saying this play--and by extension its author--fits into the world on its own terms. In…

This study explored the extent to which graduate students enrolled in Higher Education courses were proficient at writing. A total sample size of 97 graduate students from programs of Higher Education served as the sample. To assess writing proficiency the SAT II: Writing Test, Part B was used. The graduate students in this sample did not score…

This article presents four symposium papers on assessment. It includes: (1) "Closed Systems and Standardized Writing Tests" (Chris M. Anson); (2) "Information Illiteracy and Mass Market Writing Assessments" (Les Perelman); (3) "Genre, Testing, and the Constructed Realities of Student Achievement" (Mya Poe); and (4)…

The dreaded personal essay used to be the toughest part of the college-admissions process for the applicant. These days it's admissions officers who fret about student writing--and not just because they fall asleep reading endless takes on "overcoming adversity." They've got weightier concerns--plagiarized essays, students who receive…

AP Potential™ is a data-driven tool offered by the College Board that uses scores from the PSAT/NMSQT® to identify students who have the potential to succeed in Advanced Placement Program® (AP®) courses (College Board, 2007). Research showing a moderate-to-strong correlation between PSAT/NMSQT scores and AP Exam scores serves as the basis for this…