Investigated the relative importance of various grammatical and discourse features in the evaluation of second-language writing samples produced by college students enrolled in beginning and intermediate French courses. Three native-speaking instructors of French rated 172 essays using a scale that was constructed by a researcher and based on…

Developed an analytic rating scale for Japanese university students' first-language (L1) expository writing. Devised a questionnaire to investigate Japanese L1 teachers' criteria for evaluating expository writing, and, based on questionnaire results, eliminated or reorganized the descriptions under six analytic criteria. (Author/VWL)

Compares essays composed by secondary school students with pen and paper to those composed on a word processor. Finds that word-processed essays were neater, longer, more formal, and had a weaker voice than pen-and-paper essays. Finds word-processed essay quality was unaffected for students with high to medium computer experience but was adversely…

Describes a creative writing class in which students used hypertext to develop their writing portfolios. Suggests that, much like "Kansas Dorothy" who ventured into Oz, a "tornado" carried these students and their teacher from the safe Paperland to the yellow chip road of electronic portfolios. Notes that students' portfolios…

Transcribes a colloquium among doctoral candidates in rhetoric and composition at the CUNY (City University of New York) Graduate School--participants are also teachers advocating for their students. Discusses current and proposed assessment practices at CUNY. (PA)

Describes how one teacher uses life writing (reading and writing about transformative life experiences) in her basic writing class to engage students and to help them understand the power and purpose of reaching out to a variety of audiences. Discusses grading life writing. (SR)

Teachers from Kent School District (Washington) participated in intensive teacher training on an alternative model of writing assessment. Based on six traits of good writing, the model provides a common framework for writing goals and assessments by teachers and students themselves, and has generated enthusiasm among teachers, students, and…

Examines the relationship between teachers' perceptions of gender-related differences in grade 6 students' narrative writing and teachers' scoring of five student narrative papers. Finds that teachers observed gender-related narrative writing characteristics that were consistent with researchers' analyses of children's narrative writing. (PA)

As standardized tests increase in importance but remain fundamentally unchanged, they will guarantee the continued narrowing of instruction (as teachers concentrate on preparing students to pass them). Short-answer questions keep the focus on isolated fragments of learning. Writing samples are treated as formulaic exercises. Today's schools sorely…

Constructs a model for successful peer involvement for assessing writing produced by classmates with learning disabilities. Discusses six effective outcome building blocks: (1) cooperative learning from a student perspective; (2) peer as a learning assistant; (3) orchestrating purposeful peer interactions; (4) valuing peer assessment; (5)…

Describes a successful unit on poetry, characterized by collaborative planning, creation of the collection of poems used as the text, variation of the approaches and types of assignments, use of recorded music and poetry collected, use of local poets who read and performed for the students, online sharing and critiquing of students' poetry, and a…

Among the many possible aspects to assessing writing, one of the most problematic is coherence. The problems with marking coherence arise because it is by nature subjective. However, the reasonable probability of several readers reaching a consensus concerning the coherence of a text suggests that it may be possible to assign relatively reliable…

With the advent of English as a global language, the ability to write well in English across diverse settings and for different audiences has become an imperative in second language education programmes throughout the world. Yet the teaching of second language writing is often hindered by the great amount of time and skill needed to evaluate…

A survey of recent texts affirms there is no single, correct way to respond to student writing. The latest discussion reveals variations in what students want, systems instructors use to respond, and types of comments instructors may write.

A long-time detractor of immersion education has been the concern that a substantial proportion of teaching in and about a language other than English might potentially lead to irreparable damage to immersion students' development in English and, hence, their ability to function in an English-dominant society. The assessment in this article,…