The author gives several reasons for students' varying abilities to take tests, then discusses how to write tests of different forms--essay questions, true-false questions, matching questions, completion questions--noting that the teacher who spends time writing good items will save time and effort in scoring. (HD)

The authors provide an account of their experiences with the Study Essay Award of the Canadian Evaluation Society from the perspective of a former winner and the professor of program evaluation who mentored her evaluation of a substance abuse program for federal offenders on release in the community. (SLD)

Presents an award-winning essay about a teacher's relationship with a troubled student placed in his alternative classroom. Shows how the two worked together on science, math, and "Romeo and Juliet." (TB)

Examined a scoring anomaly that became apparent in a state-mandated writing assessment. Results for 3,660 essays by sixth graders show that using a spiral model for training raters and scoring papers results in higher mean ratings than does using a sequential model for training and scoring. Findings demonstrate the importance of making decisions…

Evaluated the work of sixth grade students' creative problem-solving groups, proposing that providing students with specific guidelines about what makes an exemplary group product would improve the character of the discussion and quality of the group product. Student groups did learn as a result of their discussions and creation of group products.…

Twenty-one learning-disabled eighth and eleventh graders wrote essays and answered a questionnaire concerning metacognition. Subjects were comparable to normally achieving sixth graders in their essays' interestingness, clarity in communication of goals, word choice, paragraph structure, and metacognition about the writing process. (Author/JDD)

Outlines the importance of essay tests as a method of learning and discovery. Suggests ways of helping students approach essay questions, how to determine what information is necessary for a complete answer, and how to fulfill those requirements. (KEH)

Examines the effects of essay topic variations on the writing performance of honors students and students of low ability taking Florida's College-Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST). Finds that the effects of variations in essay topics are not significant compared to general verbal ability in English and prior experiences in writing. (RS)

Studies the effectiveness of the analogical study guide, a structured study activity to accompany assigned reading. Compares its learning outcomes with outcomes of two unstructured activities commonly assigned to accompany reading: essay writing and self-questioning. Finds that superior prose-learning occurs when study activities are carefully…

Measures the effects of training students to make annotations vs. training them in journal writing, as preparation for objective and essay tests on novels. Finds annotations more effective for objective test items but not for essays. Finds that writing inferential annotations appeared to be correlated with answering inferential questions…

Sees a 1987 Supreme Court decision allowing California tribes to continue operating high-stakes gambling operations as a milestone on the path to the Indian dream of community survival and collective political power. Contrasts this dream with the traditional American Dream of individual economic achievement. Contains 14 references. (SV)

Secondary teachers returning from Cummins Engine Foundation Writing Project seminars (Indiana) shared their ideas about integrating writing skills with various academic subjects. This article provides helpful hints to teachers of business, electronics, English, foreign languages, home economics, mathematics, science, social studies, and vocational…

Evaluates the effectiveness of the PORPE (Predict, Organize, Rehearse, Practice, Evaluate) integrated study strategy system in increasing college students' learning in an actual classroom setting. Finds that PORPE is a practical, durable strategy for learning content area concepts. (RS)

Reports on a study examining the pattern of question selection by English as a Second Language (ESL) students on a writing competence test and the relationship to performance. Results suggest that ESL students heavily favored first and second questions in each set of four questions, and shorter questions in sets. (CB)

Describes the pros and cons of using written essay examinations. Reviews the history of the basic arguments for and against essay exams. Considers essay exams as forms of writing, in relation to portfolio assessment, and as reliable instruments of assessment. Advocates the use of timed, impromptu essay exams. (HB)