Automated writing evaluation (AWE) is a cutting-edge technology-based intervention designed to help teachers meet their challenges in writing classrooms and improve students' writing proficiency. The fast development of AWE systems, along with the encouragement of technology use in the U.S. K-12 education system by the Common Core State Standards…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

This manual contains the writing objectives and measurement specifications for grades 3, 5, and 9, for use by teachers and other educators responsible for pupil instruction, and for test development specialists involved with preparing the Texas Assessment of Basic Skills tests. The learning objectives are congruent with the "State Board of…

In response to the Utah State Board of Education's new high school graduation requirements, five task forces of adult basic education teachers were charged with the identification of functional competencies for adult students in the areas of reading, writing, speaking, listening, and computation, and with the development of curricular materials…

A statewide sample testing of writing skills in the fourth, seventh, and tenth grades was conducted by the Michigan Educational Assessment Program in the fall of 1982. This report, which shares the writing assessment information (historical, descriptive, and interpretive) for educational decision-making, was prepared in the hope of increasing…

In the spring of 1985, the Oregon Department of Education conducted an assessment of eighth graders' writing skills. It was the first statewide assessment to be scored analytically according to six traits: ideas and content, organization and development, style, word choice, syntax/sentence structure, and conventions (grammar, punctuation,…

This resource manual resulted from a professional development project conducted in New York to provide two-year college staff members with the awareness, skills, and knowledge necessary to facilitate and reinforce occupational students' acquisition of writing skills. Introductory material outlines the purposes and objectives of the project, i.e.,…

The New Brunswick Writing Assessment Program implemented in grades five, eight, and eleven in New Brunswick (Canada) public schools in 1978 is described in this report, which includes the specific assignments for each grade, a discussion of the general holistic scoring approach used, and characteristics of the responses at each grade, including…

Intended for writing teachers and administrators of writing programs, this handbook is both an information source and a model for a staff development workshop on writing assessment. Section I reviews the history of the New Jersey Statewide Writing Test, while Section II describes the test format, content, and reporting procedures. After an…

Some of the ways authentic writing assessment can be used in education are discussed. Using the Illinois Writing Program (IWP) as an example, this digest also looks at some of the goals, solutions, and experiences of a program that is implementing authentic writing assessment. New directions in authentic assessment are aimed at going beyond…