This booklet describes the test development process used to upgrade New Jersey's basic skills competency test, the High School Proficiency Test (HSPT). Ninth-grade students in New Jersey public schools must pass this test of reading, writing, and mathematics skills in order to receive a state endorsed high school diploma. Test development…

Based on the premise that composition skills and their evaluation are crucial to the educational process, this paper presents a tentative research program for conducting future English as a second language (ESL) composition evaluation studies. The program developed in the paper covers the following topics as areas which merit further rigorous…

A study investigated the problem of systematic oversights by students taking language passage correction (PC) tests. In these tests, students are asked to correct errors inserted in written prose passages. When errors are not overtly marked, students often overlook them. This study examined patterns of oversight in two PC tests used to evaluate…

Containing the results of Oregon's second statewide analytical writing assessment, this document summarizes the procedures used to evaluate the writing skills of 4,567 eighth graders from 55 schools and analyzes the results. Following an introduction that includes comments from the scoring team, chapter 1 presents a brief history of writing…

A handbook for foreign language educators, which was prepared by a Pennsylvania Department of Education task force, is presented. After stating the rationale, benefits, and goals of foreign language study, attention is directed to the organization and content of the curriculum. Additional considerations are evaluation of second language learners…

This volume explains the products and processes of the Entry Standards Assessment (ESA)/Basic Skills Brush Up System. The ESA/Basic Skills Brush Up Centers System is a program designed to provide Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) clients with the math, reading, and writing skills needed to take advantage of job training. Following…

Containing over 200 quality time activities for preschool-age children and their parents, "Smart Times" is designed to promote the development of children's physical, social, and cognitive skills and to help parents and children enjoy each other's company more. Recipes for fun and learning are provided to stimulate imagination, promote…

The Florida Writing Enhancement Program, for all tenth through twelfth grade students, as implemented in the Hillsborough County Public Schools, was evaluated. The program was designed to improve students' writing in the areas of composition, sentence formation, usage, and mechanics. This evaluation was conducted to determine whether the program…

Following the Migrant Student Record Transfer System skills list, this checklist, designed for non-English speaking students, is a system for rapidly evaluating a student's skill level and for keeping track of the student's mastery of suggested objectives at the third grade level. Objectives to be mastered with 100% accuracy include: spelling…

A case study of the progress of Janice, a native Spanish speaking second grader learning English in a Florida public school, focuses on the classroom environment in which she was learning English, her writing development, her perceptions of writing in English and how they changed over time, and her struggles in the face of her teacher's and…

Focusing on the learning styles of young children, this position statement presents current research and information that document the need for developmentally appropriate reading experiences during the kindergarten and prekindergarten years. The paper contains the following sections: (1) a background statement, (2) current literacy research…

Grant projects sponsored by the California State University during 1980-1982 to improve writing and critical reading across the disciplines are discussed. Seven campus writing projects and two critical reading projects were supported by the Academic Program Improvement Fund. Four of the writing projects used faculty workshops and training…

Written from a variety of perspectives, the 13 articles in this journal issue focus on the use of the computer in teaching English. Specific topics discussed in the articles are as follows: the era of the microcomputer, by R. Baird Shuman; pedagogical issues involving computers, by Duane Roen and Margaret Fleming; computer rhetoric at the…

Intended for teachers and students, this document presents updated information about the design, the sections, and the scoring of the Grade 12 diploma examinations in English 30 and 33 for the 1985-86 school year in Alberta, Canada. It contains blueprints illustrating the relationship between the content and scoring of writing and reading test…

Intended for teachers, this collection of articles on testing in the English language arts contains the following titles: "What Do Test Scores 'Really' Mean in Educational Policy?" by George F. Madaus; "Testing and Literacy: A Contradiction in Terms?" by Marilyn Wilson; "Throwing in the TOWL," by Mary Jane Curry; "Taking the Authority Figure Out…