Research on computer-based writing evaluation has only recently focused on the potential for providing formative feedback rather than summative assessment. This study tests the impact of an automated essay scorer (AES) that provides formative feedback on essay drafts written as part of a series of online teacher education case studies. Seventy…

The purpose of this research was to examine the impact of the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) and the Maryland Learning Outcomes (MLOs) in a number of areas including teacher, principal, and student beliefs, classroom practices, and student learning in reading and writing. A statewide sample of 90 elementary and middle…

Effective writing is a typical goal in undergraduate education, especially in general education program. In a survey recently conducted at the University of South Florida, one faculty member said, "I responded [to this survey] because I strongly believe that writing skills are essential for all college students regardless of their major field…

Writing across the curriculum (WAC) programs had their genesis in grass-roots efforts to promote attention to writing in all disciplinary areas. At first based on generic faculty-development activities with little regard to systemic and institutional concerns, WAC programs are now more often engaged in assessment and research of writing,…

Writing research has long attempted to define and assess coherence in written prose; however the researchers have often ignored or inadequately met the needs of writing students who require a simple definition of coherence that they can use to revise their own prose. One exception is Joseph Williams, author of "Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity…

The study examined an ESL writing class, which consisted of 36 students, at a community college of Hong Kong. The students took part in three online collaborative writing tasks by sending drafts to peers who gave them suggestions and comments for improvement and working together on the completion of the writing tasks via email. The 36 students…

It is argued that assessment of student writing can be enhanced by adoption of a functional approach to linguistic analysis; through their research, functional grammarians have provided language teachers with criteria for evaluating the extent to which learners have gained control of the grammatical and discourse features of a variety of…

Noting that primary-school writers are imaginative, and that their writing often reflects a mixture of creative, highly individual styles, this book places teaching ideas and students' writing and drawings in perspective and views the experimentations and playfulness of students as ways of learning. The Six-Trait Analytical Model for Assessing…

In the field of composition instruction, word processors can provide a new writing environment and a wealth of teaching possibilities. Integrating portfolio assessment and its benefits into computer-assisted composition instruction, however, is not easy. Recently implemented at Yavapai College (Arizona), portfolio assessment allows instructors to…

This study identified courses associated with improvements in the writing skills of 455 first semester, freshman undergraduates at a large research university. Secondarily, faculty who taught these courses were interviewed to explore their teaching practices, course designs, and evaluation techniques. The same group of students was invited back…

A study investigated how perception of the reader's age in relation to the age of the writer affects assessment of writing. Subjects were 26 Japanese women college students of English as a Second Language, all of whom had recently participated in a home-stay program in an English-speaking country. They were given the task of writing brief letters…

This study: (1) examined assumptions made about development of second-language writing skills by the teaching profession, as reflected in the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) proficiency guidelines, and (2) investigated the relationship between those assumptions and actual skills development, as reflected in the work…

This book is addressed to those about to embark on the teaching of second language writing as well as to those already engaged in the field. Teachers are dedicated to postering growth in writing; researchers want to investigate the questions that shed the greatest light on the problem in the field. The concerns of both these groups are addressed…

This guide for college teachers, written from a British perspective, focuses on economic and efficient practices for assessing students. The guide groups various practices under 10 major strategies: (1) decide whose interests assessment is serving; (2) avoid over-sampling the course; (3) avoid over-questioning; (4) avoid over-reading student work;…

This study explored the meaningfulness of "student" scores derived from assessment of student portfolios. Nine elementary teachers documented the instructional support they provided for the writing assignments of each of six target students. Support ratings captured dimensions used to assess students' writing progress…