This memorandum presents results from a scan of states' English language arts (ELA) standards for writing, with specific attention to references of cursive writing. This work was conducted by the Center on Standards and Assessment Implementation (CSAI). Using information posted on public web sites for each state and the District of Columbia, the…

Writing is a complex academic task--it involves numerous mental processes. Given the necessity for developing writing skills from elementary to secondary school, this study aimed to investigate the role of broad cognitive abilities derived from the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory of intelligence in predicting skills associated with writing…

In this investigation, the effect of instructional expenditure ratio grouping on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge & Skills Reading, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, and Writing test passing rates for students in poverty was examined. Data were obtained from the Texas Education Agency on all Texas high school students for the 2006-2007…

This article argues for a conceptualization of school writing that emphasizes how cognitive and sociocultural factors interact. In academic, professional, and affinity-based communities, an emphasis on standards of quality drives the adoption of such practices as revision and peer and expert review. In school, everyday writing practices center…

This study examined leadership style as a predictor of career readiness among a sample of (N = 281) students from two early college high schools from the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas. Participants included 165 females and 116 males ranging from 14 to 19 years of age and 96.8% identified as Hispanic. Participants provided demographic…

This research explored the combination of these three aspects, namely: teacher feedback, peer feedback, and Schoology, and looked at the effect on the students' writing performance. Schoology is an online learning management system (LMS) that is used as the platform of online feedback. The problem mainly focuses on the explored effect of online…

Rubric-referenced calibration and the interaction between writing achievement and calibration, a measure of the relationship between one's performance and the accuracy of one's judgments, were investigated. Undergraduate students (N = 596) were assigned to one of three calibration conditions: (a) global, (b) global and general criteria, or (c)…

This article reports on a study that investigated the extent to which lexical frequency and lexical diversity contribute to writing proficiency scores on monolingual English-speaking writers' and advanced multilingual writers' academic compositions. The data consist of essays composed by 104 multilingual English learners enrolled in advanced…

The present study aimed at exploring the differences in EFL learners' writing performance in two writing modes (direct and translated writing) in two writing genres (argumentation and narration) depending upon their L2 writing proficiency. For this study, 46 college freshmen (43.5% of high level and 56.5% of low level) performed four writing tasks…

Policymakers and educators on Guåhan (Guam) are concerned about the persistent shortage of qualified K-12 teachers. Staff at the Unibetsedåt Guåhan (University of Guam, UOG) School of Education, the only local university that offers a teacher training and certification program, believe that more students are interested in becoming teachers but…

This Study Snapshot highlights key findings from a study that examined which student demographic and academic preparation characteristics predict passing the Praxis® Core test and each of its subtests at the Unibetsedåt Guåhan (University of Guam, UOG) School of Education. This information is needed to increase admissions to the School of…

Policymakers and educators on Guåhan (Guam) are concerned about the persistent shortage of qualified K-12 teachers. Staff at the Unibetsedåt Guåhan (University of Guam, UOG) School of Education, the only local university that offers a teacher training and certification program, believe that more students are interested in becoming teachers but…

The "Using High School and College Data to Predict Teacher Candidates' Performance on the Praxis at Unibetsedåt Guåhan (University of Guam)" study examined which student demographic and academic preparation characteristics predict passing the Praxis® Core test and each of its subtests at the Unibetsedåt Guåhan (University of Guam, UOG)…

This New Zealand-based study of the classroom practice of nine exemplary teachers of writing to upper primary-age students explored the significance of task orientation as a component of effective teacher instruction and the instructional strategies or actions that effective teachers utilise to promote such. Effectiveness pertains to teachers…

In most assessments of students' argumentive writing and in most research on the topic, students write on topics for which they have no specific prior preparation. We examined development in the argumentive writing urban middle school students did as part of a two-year dialogic-based intervention in which students engaged deeply with a series of…