This report summarizes the Texas Assessment of Basic Skills (TABS) results for 1984. TABS assesses student achievement in mathematics, reading, and writing, including composition. The criterion-referenced tests are based on stated learning objectives and are administered annually to Texas students in grades 3, 5, 9, 10, 11, and 12. Grade 3 results…

A study was conducted to examine the associations among the processes, skills, and content of the writing of children aged 9 through 14 years. A further objective was to explore the impact of developmetal changes by comparing the performance of children at the 9-10, 11-12, and 13-14 year age-levels. Subjects were 340 average students and 268…

To see what effects practice--frequent writing without teacher correction--would have on the writing of students in grades one and two in one small elementary school, writing samples were collected from all pupils at each grade level in October and May. Five factors were examined: general impression, length, vocabulary, spelling, and syntactic…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 23 titles provide information on a variety of topics, including the following: (1) voice and the fictional narrative; (2) the effects of oral response groups before and after rough drafts on writing achievement and apprehension;…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of analytic corrections and revisions on college composition students working in a portfolio assessment setting. Subjects were 19 community college students enrolled in a transfer-level class in composition. Three of these students were from the English as a Second Language/immigrant/refugee…

This paper presents case studies of four students' experiences with writing in a fourth/fifth grade classroom. The paper focuses on the following questions: What is the relationship between children's social and intellectual identities and their successes or struggles in writing? How do writing instruction and assessments mediate that…

Developed by classroom teachers during the development phase of Minnesota's Graduation Standards, this performance package is made up of locally designed assignments that, taken together, show whether a student has learned and can apply the knowledge and skills related to writing short stories and letters for a variety of academic and technical…

This publication contains journal essays and book chapters (from publications of the National Council of Teachers of English) concerning trends and issues in postsecondary English studies. The publication's first section, "Race/Class/Gender Positions," contains the following articles: (1) "On the Rhetoric and Precedents of…

College courses which use writing across the curriculum (WAC) principles encourage students to write about assigned readings and to respond to each other's writings, resulting in better learning of course concepts and the experience of participating in a discipline's ongoing conversation. Guidelines for setting up peer response groups in both…

Tape-recorded commentaries on student writing can tell students in detail how a reader responds to their writing. Computers that can record and/or play back voice recordings can also help improve the way teachers annotate students' drafts. Strategies for using the method are presented, with excerpts from students' discipline-based writing and…

Examines how six Hong Kong secondary school students of English as a Second Language viewed the roles of teacher and student in evaluating student compositions, and explores the extent to which broader educational context and its belief system shaped these perceptions. Questions viability of notions of collaborative construction of knowledge in…

A survey of the authors and editors of 22 library journals determined that the pressure on academic librarians to publish has affected literature quality. Suggests improving the process by providing release time; evaluating publication quality; choosing qualified authors; increasing the number of persons in the process; training librarians in…

Probes the logistical problems of assigning a term paper to large history classes. Proposes a solution that asks students to write a biographical sketch of a notable individual in western civilization. Describes paper requirements and student responses to the assignment. Stresses the importance of developing writing skills in the liberal arts. (RW)

The degree to which tests of divergent production may be confounded by verbal ability and loquacity; and relationships among divergent thinking, social competency, and the syntactic complexity of prose written by 61 fifth and sixth graders were assessed. Complex thinkers may appreciate the value of simplicity in facilitating communication. (TJH)

Examines long-term effects of two types of practice task on low-proficiency English-as-a-foreign-language writing. Two classes of freshmen at a Japanese women's college were assigned homework tasks based on picture stories. Results showed that low-proficiency students can improve their writing proficiency more by writing out picture stories than…