This report summarizes and synthesizes current research on the effects of using word processors on students' writing performance. The report examines cognitive models of the writing process, issues in the assessment of writing performance, and research on instruction in keyboarding. The work was carried out as part of a course requirement by…

Developed in response to numerous requests from curriculum specialists and classroom teachers, this booklet addresses student assessment in written composition. Its purpose is: (1) to assist teachers in constructing writing prompts which correspond to the TEAMS (Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills) writing objectives and measurement…

This paper provides principles which can be used to mark mathematics papers in secondary schools. Sections included are: (1) "Drafting the Marking Scheme" (describing 15 general considerations); (2) "Calculations" (listing 16 grading principles on computation papers); (3) "Graphs" (providing four guidelines on graph papers); (4) "Constructions"…

A total of 2,000 essays written by 1,000 students was submitted to generalizability analyses for domain-referenced tests. Each student had written one essay on each of two prompts representing two models of discourse. Each essay was read by six readers and judged on a scale of from 1 to 4. No reader read essays from both prompts. Reader agreement…

This book contains 16 articles on how teachers respond to students' writing and how they can help students evaluate their own writing and make it more effective. It encourages teachers to study their own assumptions and techniques for responding to student work, assess whether they are helping students take responsibility, and adjust their…

In order to facilitate the decentralization of the Illinois writing assessment program, this handbook describes and provides materials for writing assessment training workshops. The first of the nine sections in the handbook gives a general overview of the Illinois Writing Assessment. The second section, on training for assessment, describes…

Intended to encourage teachers to examine their assumptions about teaching writing, this document containing a mixture of theory and practice deals with many aspects of writing. The chapters discuss (1) an examination of children's writing and some questions arising from the examination; (2) reasons for failure to write well, including the home…

A study examined the role diagnosis plays in the process of revision. Seven student writers and seven expert writers were asked to revise a letter, written from one athletic coach to another discussing why women are reluctant to participate in college sports, for a handout recruiting freshman women. In addition to 26 explicitly "planted…

Intended for teachers, this bibliography lists 3 books and 16 journal articles about evaluating writing. The works cover such aspects as the effects of praise and blame on student writing, the evaluation of composition without using grades, an evaluation system that promotes writing, procedures for evaluating writing, holistic reading in the…

The Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory was involved in selecting the "Best Report of an Evaluation" for the 1981 awards competition of Division H of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). During this process two things became apparent--there was no procedure or set of standards by which to select a best report, and…

Intended for teachers of an advanced undergraduate composition course for majors in any of the liberal arts, social sciences, humanities, or business, this manual offers an outline, instructional materials, and some suggested assignments. Emphasis is placed on the process of composing, particularly the ways students should write for different…

This 1982 supplement is a further elaboration to the Writing Assessment which was distributed in 1981 to assist schools in assessment of writing by detailing scoring procedures, standard-setting, and the reporting of results. The supplement deals with retesting, alternative methods for setting standards, establishing score equivalency on writing…

Although many studies have been conducted on the subject of writing, little research on the composing process itself can be found. One early study of significance is Janet Emig's "The Composing Processes of Twelfth Graders," which compares school-sponsored writing with self-sponsored writing. Donald Graves, Lucy McCormick Calkins, and Donald…

Offered as a result of suggestions by Maryland teachers, this guide serves as an instructional reference for educators on teaching functional writing at the elementary and secondary school levels. The guide was developed as a supplement to volume one; both volumes provide a comprehensive perspective to writing improvement in Maryland. The first…

An important question in teaching notetaking is how reading and study skills specialists lead students to become self-motivated and self-directed in their notetaking regime. A promising answer to this question can be found in a systematic approach to training students and evaluating notetaking that involves four stages over the course of a…