Cuing, organization, and reduction constraints were systematically manipulated in a descriptive passage presented to 120 undergraduate students. Results showed strong effects for cuing on written summary qualities. Performance across treatment combinations on all four outcome measures was far below ceiling level. (Author/BS)

Offers heresies about reading, grading, and commenting on student papers which may relieve teachers from constant paper grading. Recommends using peer audiences, deemphasizing grading, expanding and elaborating the stages of the composing process, and modeling effective writing behaviors for students. (RAE)

Contends that by using nonfiction writing as a daily developmental process, a child finds a predictable, nurturing, and accepting environment which helps teachers understand their students, helps children learn, and promotes acceptance of both the student and the child. (MS)

Argues that instructors need to think more systematically about how to prepare students to write good essay examinations. Demonstrates that higher levels of learning involving integration, synthesis, evaluation, and application are essential for this type of testing. Concludes that the significance of efficient writing skills is as important as…

Grades the Educational Testing Service in taking over the National Assessment of Educational Progress literacy project with a "C-", claiming Part One earned a "D" for abandoning some of the most cogent and winning strategies of previous NAEP studies and Part Two earned a "C" for providing confusing unexplained data.…

Reports on a study in the development of content-fair essay topics that provide the majority of examinees with the chance to write on a subject about which they know a great deal, and that reduce opportunities for linguistic misinterpretation. (HTH)

Describes the rationale and procedure for using student writing portfolios in lieu of proficiency writing exams to determine student placement at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. (HTH)

Presents guidelines given to students to help make peer group discussions of writing more effective. (HTH)

Summarizes and evaluates the major direct methods of assessing writing ability (holistic scoring, analytical scoring, and primary trait scoring) and the most popular indirect methods of predicting students' ability to write (T-unit analysis and a variety of published standardized tests). (EKN)

Describes a grading option used by technical writing faculty members at Ohio State University that allows students to complete reports on their own in order to learn to work without supervision. (FL)

Scoring systems for direct writing assessment are described. In holistic scoring, a global quality judgment of the writing sample is made. Primary trait scoring, developed by the National Assessment of Educational Progress, is conducted in accordance with specific goals. Analytic scoring identifies characteristics and quality of writing. These…

Offers suggestions for reinforcing the teaching of writing as process by approaching the evaluation of writing as process. (FL)

In this electronic age, handwriting seems to have lost its place in America's classrooms. But while today's students do use the computer for many projects, ultimately they need to have legible handwriting--for employment applications, loan applications, formal social correspondence, note taking, and test taking. Here, the authors call for a…

This paper reports on the myriad difficulties in getting rid of an unsatisfactory writing examination in place at Western Washington University. First, the paper provides background information on how and why the exam (the Junior Writing Exam) came to be adopted in the 1980s (as a diagnostic test only) and explains what the exam was meant to…

Describes how the Longview (Washington) public schools and Washington State University faculty developed a procedure involving a test essay to screen job applicants for writing skills. Concludes that problems exist in finding applicants with the necessary writing skills and that the tests generated uneasiness among the existing staff. (Author/RW)