Reviews the research done on the evaluation of student compositions. (JL)

Attitudinal data from questionnaires and student written products were used to investigate how students' attitudes relate to their performance on typical test writing tasks. (HOD)

Examines the relative effects on holistic scores given to college students' expository essays of three types of variables--essay, reader, and environment. (HOD)

The individual writing conference is one of the key settings in which adults are taught to write. Success in the conference can be connected both to its structure (who can talk when and how much, and what types of talk are sequenced in what ways) and to the content within that structure (what topics are discussed, the amount of collaboration…

Recent research creates a better understanding of how writing is best learned, taught, and used for learning in school and life. Research done by Anne Haas Dyson and Carol Stack has indicated that many low-income African American children may bring resources to school that are often overlooked. Matthew Downey moves from Dyson's findings about how…

This paper reviews research about writing that may inform teachers' observations of their students and their decisions about how best to support students' efforts. First, since ways of using written language vary with different social situations, the paper reviews research on how literacy functions in varied communities, including both the…

Summarizes research being conducted by project directors under the auspices of the National Center for the Study of Writing and Literacy. Considers assessment of writing issues, the professionalization of teaching, and the teaching of nonnative speakers. (HB)

In continuing and building upon past efforts, the National Center for the Study of Writing and Literacy, in collaboration with researchers and practitioners around the world, is forging new theoretical and pedagogical directions in writing and literacy. The Center's research projects and activities aim to respond boldly and straightforwardly to…

Because student-teacher conferences appear to be more effective than other methods of writing evaluation, a study was conducted to observe how students' writing changed over a semester and whether those changes were related to the conversations in student-teacher conferences. Two college freshman composition students--one strong and one weak…

Noting that within the area of literacy, writing is a young area of study, this research report looks at the impact of the national Center for the Study of Writing and Literacy's 10 years of sustained research. The paper first considers how Center research projects and activities have been tied together to address three interlocking sets of…

Writing teachers and educators can add to information from large-scale testing and teachers can strengthen classroom assessment by creating a tight fit between large-scale testing and classroom assessment. Across the years, large-scale testing programs have struggled with a difficult problem: how to evaluate student writing reliably and…

A response to a piece of student writing will be most effective if it helps students consciously identify and solve their composing problems, stimulates them to use the response, and helps them to transfer these practiced skills. Furthermore, the response should (1) take place during the process of writing rather than after a piece is completed,…

The pedagogical literature on the peer response group as a teaching method in the writing classroom is examined, within the context of current theories on teaching and learning of writing. The few empirical studies on the method are reviewed. Suggestions for reconceptualizing peer response to writing are provided. (TJH)

Noting that while writing teachers acknowledge that responding to their students' writing is central to their teaching, they still express frustration about how to make their response effective. This book describes a two-part study conducted to discover how the nation's most successful writing teachers respond to their students' work. The first…

To support arguments for an integrative approach to the study of writing, this report summarizes past and current trends in writing research and the resulting implications. The introduction discusses pre-1970s, 1970s, and 1980s research trends, noting that current research focuses on the context in which writing takes place and points out the…