This first annual report describes student performance in reading and writing from the spring 1997 administration of the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP). In this first administration of CSAP, all fourth grade students in Colorado were assessed. The report provides policymakers, educators, parents, and the community with a general…

Many colleges and universities are revamping their freshman writing courses in response to increasing numbers of complaints from professors who see students who cannot write and from students bored or frustrated in writing courses. (SLD)

The full-school-year immersion of six deaf kindergarten students in literacy-rich activities focusing on daily reading and writing in authentic communication tasks resulted in increased levels of written language production. (12 references) (Author/CB)

Suggests that the implications of the conclusions of another article in this issue are critical to writing instruction, in that they relate to the nature of craft in writing and its relationship to current views of language development and learning. Offers specific instructional processes to address students' differing capabilities in processing…

Comments on development of literacy "benchmarks" by the Commonwealth Government. Suggests that the benchmarks (1) will prove a highly productive discursive (and thus financial) context for some researchers, assessment organizations, and professional development teams; and (2) are a product of the melodrama of crisis, having no foundation…

Contains the guide used by scorers of eighth grade informative writing in the 1998 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), samples of student responses at each of the six levels of performance, and a discussion of the scoring method. (Author/SLD)

This article reviews research examining technical features of curriculum-based measurement (CBM) in written expression. Twenty-eight technical reports and published articles are included in this review. Studies examining the development and technical adequacy of measures of written expression are summarized, beginning with research conducted at…

School counselors and educators tend to focus on the symptoms of cultural discontinuity and often view these symptoms as root causes for underachievement. In this article we use an ecosystemic paradigm to explore the relationship among cultural discontinuity, psychological distress, and academic achievement. Recommendations include ways in which…

This study aimed at investigating the effect of electronic dialogue journaling on Jordanian upper basic stage EFL students' writing performance. The study utilized a pretest-posttest control group experimental design. The subjects of the study consisted of fifty students enrolled in the Islamic Educational School during the first semester of the…

This publication illustrates a sampling of Colorado schools that despite a variety of challenges are accomplishing achievement results that are noteworthy. These schools and others were identified through a statewide study of Colorado reading and writing conducted by the Colorado Department of Education Office of Learning and Results. The report,…

This study tested three models of the structural relationship between the writing achievement of primary grade students and their attitude towards writing (defined here as an affective disposition involving how the act of writing makes the author feel, ranging from happy to unhappy). The three models tested were: (a) writing attitude influences…

Compares White and African-American basic writers' texts produced during districtwide holistic writing assessments. Shows that White basic writers differ little from African-American basic writers, although African-Americans tend to use a stronger personal voice and drop standard word ending. Concludes that dialect is not the key issue. (MG)

Focuses on two aspects of writing for which change has been measured since 1984: writing fluency and mastery of the conventions of written English. Results from the 1996 long-term trend writing assessment of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) show modest improvements in conventions mastery since 1984 and improvements in fluency…

Contains the guide used by scorers of the 12th grade persuasive writing test of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), samples of student responses at each of the six levels of performance, and discussion of the scoring methods. (Author/SLD)

The study was conducted to determine whether there is a relationship between the Coordinated School Health Program (CSHP) and student academic performance. Data were collected from schools and the community for three reports for 50 states and the District of Columbia (DC). The School Health Policies and Programs Survey (SHPPS), the National…