The history of direct writing assessment and scoring procedures in South Carolina are discussed. The South Carolina Basic Skills Assessment Program Writing Committee developed writing objectives for students. Holistic and analytic scoring procedures were used. Information on instructional improvement and student deficiencies was distributed to…

A summary of the writing assessment programs reviewed in this journal is presented. The problems inherent in the programs are outlined. A coordinated research program on major problems in writing assessment is proposed as being beneficial and cost-effective. (DWH)

This study was concerned with assessing knowledge of concept interrelationships. Comparisons were made between performance on the concept comparison task (making a comparative judgment in the form of a rating on each pair of a set of concept labels) and essay test performance. (Author/PN)

What counts as knowledge and whose knowledge counts? When does going away help shape a clearer sense of home, and when does it not? How does living abroad change our perspectives as teachers and learners? The educators who have contributed to this Occasional Paper share a formidable combination of purpose, curiosity, courage, and self-awareness.…

A multifaceted study using both qualitative and quantitative methods examined the expectations of college life of first-time freshmen and then checked 4 years later at their graduation to determine how well they felt those expectations were met. Incoming freshmen wrote an essay detailing expectations, and shortly before graduation wrote another…

The paper provides a college mathematics student's concept maps, definitions, and essays to support the thesis that language-based prior knowledge can influence students' cognitive processes of mathematical concepts. A group of intermediate algebra students who displayed terms mainly from the spoken language on the first and the second concept…

This document consists of articles 23 through 26 published in the electronic journal "Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation" in 2001: (23) "Effects of Removing the Time Limit on First and Second Language Intelligence Test Performance" (Jennifer Mullane and Stuart J. McKelvie); (24) "Consequences of (Mis)use of the Texas Assessment of…

An essay, often called a personal essay, familiar essay, lyric essay, the disjunctive or spiral essay, is a piece of writing which takes its form in the shifts and turns of a particular mind at work. The essay is a piece of writing which pays attention to and sometimes plays with form; often uses images and figures that are familiar with poetry;…

Describes a kind of final exam questions that encourage creative thinking and problem solving and involvement by the students. Five examples from a course on neoclassic literature are provided. (TO)

Studies of theories developed by several demographic analysts dating from the 17th century form the basis of this essay about the effects of the French population and family structure on childhood education. A psychohistorical approach is suggested for future studies of population and pedagogy. (SM)

A principal components analysis was conducted to determine whether the measures of essays made by the computer could be grouped into factors. Six factors (fluency, spelling, diction, sentence structure, punctuation, and paragraphing) were identified. (Author)

An investigation of certain chance and systematic factors affecting the grades assigned by 17 law school professors to the answers of 79 law students to a typical essay question. (Authors/MB)

Revised and enlarged version of a speech delivered at a joint meeting of the Classical Association of the Atlantic States (CAAS) and the Classical Association of the Empire State (CAES) in Syracuse, New York, November 1, 1969. (DS)

This essay investigates the impact of the racial disharmony in the United States upon America's role in the world. Complexity of U.S. policies and programs abroad will allow Black American leaders to influence more directly those portions of U.S. foreign policy of greatest concern to them. (SM)