A study examined the accountability systems for student written work set up and cased by twelve junior high school mathematics teachers. The five dimensions of accountability observed (1) clarity of overall work assignments, (2) procedures for communicating assignments and instructions to students, (3) teacher monitoring of work in progress, (4)…

This report describes activities and achievements of a project that developed and evaluated the Demand Writing Instructional Model (DWIM), a comprehensive writing program for students with learning disabilities (LD) and low-performing students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in inclusive general education classrooms. The…

Intended for instructors of English as a Second Language (ESL), adult basic education, and workplace literacy, this manual focuses on three questions: What is authentic assessment? What are the steps in planning authentic assessment? How is the learner involved? Section 1 discusses some components of authentic assessment. In doing so, it addresses…

Part of the transition process for students in educational leadership programs is mastery of the scholarly writing process. To address this need, the faculty of a southwestern university designed a scholarly writing project for incoming doctoral students. This paper presents the results of a study of student responses to the critiquing process…

Describes recent studies dealing with writing and the writing process, language acquisition, English teacher education, multimedia instruction, literature, language skills, and reading. (HOD)

A cognitive-based system of analysis of spoken discourse was designed to provide details about the way pupils think and talk about issues arising from prose material. Written and spoken responses were analyzed to examine the effects of intellectual ability, differences in the stimulus passage, and prior small group discussion. (Note: Page…

Discusses outcomes of a study that suggest ESL instructors focus on grammar and syntax in student writing, whereas English faculty members focus more on content and style. Because they are less familiar with different rhetorical styles, English faculty evaluate ESL compositions lower when they do not correspond to a more western form. (29…

Suggests that while language variation is widespread and natural, it is subject to judgment and that where a standard has developed other varieties are judged against the standard. Investigates how teachers judge the speech of school-aged students and what influences that judgment. Results show teachers' perceptions of speech were most strongly…

A college teacher describes his approach to student subject-area writing, which includes assignment of several short papers to be written according to carefully prescribed guidelines (appended to the article), clear grading criteria, high expectations, availability for individual conferences, rewards for improvement, encouragement of writing for…

Examines early stages in children's handwriting, emphasizing the importance of teaching correct letter formation. Recommends (1) individual initial assessment and formative assessment throughout the teaching program; (2) teaching based on individual children's errors; and (3) careful observation of individual children in the process of writing.…

Describes a productive collaboration between a teacher and a researcher who explored the procedures and consequences of involving parents in assessing their children's writing. An analysis of participants' responses to this role suggested it met with success. Suggestions for how the activity can be used as a valuable part of the educational…

This instructional module from the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) explains how to design assessments for written reports, develop performance criteria and communicate them to students, monitor progress, and assess the outcome. Learning how to give students a role in assessment adds a dimension to their responsibilities. (SLD)

Reviews the history and uses of standardized testing, and suggests alternative methods of assessment. States the belief that testing exerts undue pressure on children, provides no useful information on individual children, and limits educational possibilities. Discusses the Association for Childhood Education International position paper which…

A study investigated the consistency of criteria for academic English skills as applied by teachers of academic English and science lecturers in a South African historically black university. Both groups were asked to evaluate first-year students' essays on the greenhouse effect. Results indicated a wide variation in scores and judgments within…

Argues that lack of attention to the student's perspective (how they react to, and what sense they make of, their teachers' comments) limits the conclusions that can be drawn from research on teacher response. Reviews three articles in the same issue of this journal that deal with teacher response to student writing in light of this limitation.…