This report is designed for educators who are involved in teaching, developing, or evaluating curriculum in the elementary schools. It describes the content and application of Florida's fourth grade writing test, and it offers suggestions that might be helpful in preparing students for the assessment. The 1990 Florida legislature mandated the…

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) administered Illinois Measure of Annual Growth in English (IMAGE) tests in Spring 2004. IMAGE tests are administered to Limited English Proficient (LEP) students who have been in either a Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) or Transitional Program of Instruction (TPI) program since September 30 of…

Details the history of California's experience with large-scale writing assessment. Describes the introduction, development, and scoring of the California Assessment Program, later renamed the California Learning Assessment System (CLAS). Discusses controversies over removal of certain writing prompts and objections to CLAS. Notes that funding for…

Study tested influence of writing self-efficacy, writing apprehension, and writing aptitude on 181 ninth-grade students. Aptitude and self-efficacy had direct effects on performance. Girls and boys did not differ in aptitude or performance, but girls reported lower writing self-efficacy. Native English-speaking Hispanic students had lower aptitude…

Examines teachers' beliefs and attitudes as their school district moved toward mandated and standardized literacy portfolio assessment. Notes that the three teachers value informal classroom portfolio assessment. Presents teachers' concerns as their district begins the process of mandated and standardized portfolio assessment. Notes that the…

Describes how two low-achieving, high-poverty school districts raised the test scores of their students. The El Centro school district's inquiry-science approach raised elementary science test scores, as well as mathematics and reading scores. Twin Falls improved test scores by adopting the Standardized Timed Curriculum, which involved components…

Findings are reported from a longitudinal study, involving 8- to 10-year-old students in England, which evaluated and analyzed student writing samples. The writing samples were elicited by tests intended to produce two kinds of writing: a story and a description. (IAH)

The effect of extended text writing on the writing proficiency of urban elementary school students was investigated with 39 fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms. Both quality of writing and use of writing conventions was better for students with extended writing practice, a result consistent for minority and European American students. (SLD)

Nineteen college students with deafness made significant gains in their writing after use of a cooperative-learning question/probe procedure. However, maintenance of improved written performance did not occur despite students' reports of increased use of self-regulated strategies and enhanced perceptions of their ability in writing. (DB)

Investigates the impact of a literature-based program on children from minority backgrounds. Finds that children in the treatment group did better on all literacy measures except for the standardized test, where no differences were found. Finds no differences between the performance of children in the school-based program and the home- and…

A national study examined the essay performance of 17-year olds (n=288), relating their written composition and writing motivation scores to 9 previously studied educational and environmental influences on learning (e.g., age, motivation, mass media, peer groups, home). Results indicate that writing performance is much less predictable then…

Identifies problems inherent in writing assessment. Suggests that the measurement of minority students' test results can pose difficulties. Cites the practical impossibility of finding objectively true answers to some questions and of making value-free assessments of what students learn. Highlights conflicting views of writing teachers and writing…

Compares Singapore students' composing behaviors and abilities in (1) hand-written and (2) computer essays using a spelling checker. Results indicate that the spelling checker benefits those students whose initial writing ability is poor and whose writing is blocked by an emphasis on the mechanical aspects of writing. (Author/AEF)

Describes the work of the Literacy Unit of the New Standards Project and uses that description to raise a broader set of issues about assessment in the K-12 English language arts. Notes that the performance assessment uses on-demand tasks lasting three to five days and involves the reading of a selection and writing of an essay and portfolios. (RS)

Uses a control class to compare student attitudes about writing and performance as writers. Finds that students in the Internet-based classes contributed to their journals more frequently, reported a greater increase in their enjoyment of writing, and demonstrated greater improvement on initial and final timed writing samples as compared with the…