School counselors and educators tend to focus on the symptoms of cultural discontinuity and often view these symptoms as root causes for underachievement. In this article we use an ecosystemic paradigm to explore the relationship among cultural discontinuity, psychological distress, and academic achievement. Recommendations include ways in which…

Compares White and African-American basic writers' texts produced during districtwide holistic writing assessments. Shows that White basic writers differ little from African-American basic writers, although African-Americans tend to use a stronger personal voice and drop standard word ending. Concludes that dialect is not the key issue. (MG)

Focuses on two aspects of writing for which change has been measured since 1984: writing fluency and mastery of the conventions of written English. Results from the 1996 long-term trend writing assessment of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) show modest improvements in conventions mastery since 1984 and improvements in fluency…

Contains the guide used by scorers of the 12th grade persuasive writing test of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), samples of student responses at each of the six levels of performance, and discussion of the scoring methods. (Author/SLD)

This study aimed at investigating the effect of electronic dialogue journaling on Jordanian upper basic stage EFL students' writing performance. The study utilized a pretest-posttest control group experimental design. The subjects of the study consisted of fifty students enrolled in the Islamic Educational School during the first semester of the…

This publication illustrates a sampling of Colorado schools that despite a variety of challenges are accomplishing achievement results that are noteworthy. These schools and others were identified through a statewide study of Colorado reading and writing conducted by the Colorado Department of Education Office of Learning and Results. The report,…

This study tested three models of the structural relationship between the writing achievement of primary grade students and their attitude towards writing (defined here as an affective disposition involving how the act of writing makes the author feel, ranging from happy to unhappy). The three models tested were: (a) writing attitude influences…

This report describes student performance in third grade Reading Comprehension and fourth grade Reading and Writing from the spring 1998 administration of the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP). In this second administration of CSAP, all third and fourth grade students in Colorado were accounted for. The report provides policymakers,…

This study used evidence from the 1996 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in mathematics and the 1998 NAEP main assessments in reading and writing to examine patterns of computer use and academic achievement in each of these three academic domains. It is concluded that the design of the NAEP data collection precludes using such…

This paper is intended to contribute to the debate about how to raise standards of literacy. It summarizes early evidence from HMI (Her Majesty's Inspectors) about the teaching of writing within the National Literacy Strategy and exemplifies good practice in the schools inspected by HMI. In some respects it breaks with tradition in quoting…

Technical education students need to realize high expectations and goals in writing. They have a plethora of purposes to be good communicators in written endeavors. This paper first outlines the reasons why they need to be careful with written communications, and then lists some of the purposes for which their communications are written. The paper…

This handbook gives teachers, reading specialists, administrators, or students concise, up-to-date information on the most popular assessment and evaluation tools in literacy. This second edition retains many of the tools reviewed in the first edition and adds 12 new tools. The first section reviews 24 tools that are teacher-made. The second…

The intent of the Washington State Writing Framework is to provide support for the development of writing benchmarks and instructional guidelines for individual school districts. The purpose of the writing framework is: to provide grade by grade overview of the Essential Academic Learning Requirements in writing; to complement the frameworks for…

Compares writing performance of Anglo American and Navajo students in grades 7 and 11 by gender and ethnicity. Finds, for example, that Navajo female students' writing is longer and more expressive than that of Navajo males. (Contains 40 references.) (PKP)

Discusses Linda Sue Park, the 2002 Newbery Medal winner, and includes excerpts of an interview with her. Notes that her diverse writing career began at an early age. Discusses writing Korean "historicals" and researching her other books. Identifies mentors as an important characteristic of both her life and work. (PM)