Identifies problems inherent in writing assessment. Suggests that the measurement of minority students' test results can pose difficulties. Cites the practical impossibility of finding objectively true answers to some questions and of making value-free assessments of what students learn. Highlights conflicting views of writing teachers and writing…

Comparison of the effects of error- versus message-oriented written feedback on second-language students' essays found that error corrections and rule reminders did not significantly improve students' written accuracy or enhance the ideational quality of their writing, whereas message-related comments promoted writing proficiency. (63 references)…

Competent writers make certain decisions when engaged in discourse-level revising of their own written work. Discussion and description of those decisions illuminates and informs classroom procedures for developing such revising and reviewing skills. A reader feedback guide for use in small group work facilitates the process. (Contains 14…

Summarizes research being conducted by project directors under the auspices of the National Center for the Study of Writing and Literacy. Considers assessment of writing issues, the professionalization of teaching, and the teaching of nonnative speakers. (HB)

Describes the design and evaluation of a formal writing assessment program within a technical writing course. Attempts to evaluate student writing at the conclusion of such a course. Addresses fundamental issues of sound assessment, including reliability and validity. Presents assessment guidelines for technical writing teachers. (HB)

Concludes that, despite questionnaire and interview data revealing that teachers attempted to ignore the influence of gender perception in their assessment of student narrative writing, they did construct the writer's gender while reading student narratives. Suggests that the gender perceptions narrowed the lenses through which teachers assessed…

Examines the use of Prep-Editor, a computer program to help undergraduate science writing students communicate with their peers about drafts. Finds that the program did not increase time spent on various writing activities. Notes that the Prep group reported a number of computer-related problems, whereas the non-Prep group reported more…

Describes how keeping a journal of four areas of concern helped a high school writing teacher implement changes in his teaching and discover what worked. Discusses how he used the journal to help him focus on implementing peer editing, teaching essay structure, improving student essay detail, and correcting essays more skillfully. (SR)

Suggests that students continue to regard teacher responses as directives that leave them few options in revisions. Finds that students generally look to their teachers to show them the "correct" way to write and resist the notion of making independent judgments about their writing and the necessary revisions, primarily because they could not…

Suggests and illustrates three areas for investigation: effects of error on teachers' processing of student writing; relationship between error and teacher's construction of the writer's persona; and the relationship between the changing status of socially constructed norms of language use and response to error. Advocates greater focus on…

Investigates what constitutes good reflection. Describes how one instructor used the Myers-Briggs type indicator (MBTI) to explore her responses to the reflective writing produced by preservice English teachers. Concludes that the MBTI can provide insight into and improve how instructors assign, respond to, and evaluate student reflection.…

Reports on a research project for which an American literature high school class was observed every day for a semester. Presents a framework for understanding teacher responses to student writing, consisting of five orientations toward that writing: interpretive, social, cognitive/emotive, evaluative, and pedagogical. (TB)

Explores the effects of a high-stakes, direct writing test on three teachers and their students. Suggests that an emphasis on test preparation diminished the likelihood of the teachers' engaging in reflective practice that is sensitive to the needs of individual students, and that the high-stakes assessment process discounted the validity of…

Describes how some background factors influenced the way in which one experienced rater dealt with a number of operations involved in setting up and applying scoring criteria in the assessment of 60 Test of English as a Foreign Language essays. Implications are drawn for both future research into interrater variability and for rater training.…

Provides suggestions on how to interweave data collected from authentic student writing samples (student or teacher portfolios) into classroom instructional planning and implementations. Shares practical hands-on ideas for teachers of students with learning disabilities and/or low achievers. Notes examples of student performance authentication…