Discusses the heavy demand on teachers and students for making sense of writing test scores. Illustrates the interpretive demands of going beyond writing test scores to make sense of the scores. Suggests that these demands point to the need for professional development in this area. (RS)

Presents an in-depth look at the design and development of a portfolio-based writing assessment tool intended for use on a daily basis in the classroom. Helps teachers think about the role of assessment in guiding students' narrative writing, with particular emphasis on the connections among curriculum, instruction, and assessment. (RS)

Discusses the use of grading forms developed to spell out the responsibilities of the editor in chief, page editors, business manager, and photographers. Provides forms to grade news stories and editorials. (RS)

Describes changes in the review process of articles submitted for publication in this journal. Notes that many reviewers now sign their review letters. Includes two reviewer response letters to an author, an editor's letter to the author, and the author's letter to the editor. (RS)

Describes an "improvement gauge": a cumulative chart providing a numerical analytic comparison of student and teacher evaluations for every graded writing assignment. Maintains that its use improves teacher effectiveness, grading efficiency, student/teacher conference productivity, and student reflection on writing strengths and weaknesses. (SR)

Discusses political challenges that basic writing programs face and describes strategies for meeting those challenges. Suggests ways to improve basic writing instruction and assessment to empower basic writing students. (SR)

Reviews basic concepts and history of portfolio assessment as a useful means of evaluating student writing. Considers insights gained from the use of portfolio assessment. Questions five assumptions underlying portfolio assessment and suggests ways of working with portfolios that take into account new insights and perspectives. (HB)

Gives historical background of the achievement of Ellis Page and his attempt to create a means by which computers could be used for analyzing and evaluating student writings. Provides critical reception of the original studies by Page. Discusses three current computer approaches to the task of evaluating student writing. (HB)

Describes various writing center issues and how they were foregrounded through the institution of a campuswide portfolio evaluation in the first-year writing program at the University of Southern California in fall of 1990. Shows the effect of the adoption of portfolio evaluation on the writing center's activities. (HB)

Discusses various reasons why teachers should pay attention to religious writing from students. Uses examples taken from proficiency exam reader-training sessions. (NH)

Contends that assessing writing is much the same as reviewing literature. Questions the differences between oral literature and composition and responses to them, and hypertext and responses to them. Discusses how these questions relate to determining achievement, performance, or learning in writing. Defines, offers a blueprint of, and discusses…

An adult-literacy teacher modeled her own writing in class and enabled learners to critique and provide feedback. The process enabled her to identify more clearly learners' anxieties about writing, and it uncovered problematic aspects of the curriculum. (SK)

Identifies advantages and disadvantages of using focus groups rather than individual interviews in evaluating texts. Finds that focus groups tended to identify acceptance problems, whereas individual interview participants focused on comprehension. (SR)

Begins with a quick history of the English profession's response to the prospect/specter of the computer as reader of student writing. Describes two programs that are now being heavily marketed and publicized nationally. Sketches out some of the implications of these programs for members of the profession of English in America. (SG)

Providing an essay by a student who committed suicide as an example, discusses the importance of appreciating what writing rubrics and other assessment devices do not measure or observe. Proposes that school counselors can help educators' discern possible warning signs in students' written and oral communications. (Contains 15 references.) (GCP)