Containing the results of Oregon's second statewide analytical writing assessment, this document summarizes the procedures used to evaluate the writing skills of 4,567 eighth graders from 55 schools and analyzes the results. Following an introduction that includes comments from the scoring team, chapter 1 presents a brief history of writing…

The Florida Writing Enhancement Program, for all tenth through twelfth grade students, as implemented in the Hillsborough County Public Schools, was evaluated. The program was designed to improve students' writing in the areas of composition, sentence formation, usage, and mechanics. This evaluation was conducted to determine whether the program…

Intended for teachers and students, this document presents updated information about the design, the sections, and the scoring of the Grade 12 diploma examinations in English 30 and 33 for the 1985-86 school year in Alberta, Canada. It contains blueprints illustrating the relationship between the content and scoring of writing and reading test…

Intended for teachers, this collection of articles on testing in the English language arts contains the following titles: "What Do Test Scores 'Really' Mean in Educational Policy?" by George F. Madaus; "Testing and Literacy: A Contradiction in Terms?" by Marilyn Wilson; "Throwing in the TOWL," by Mary Jane Curry; "Taking the Authority Figure Out…

This manual is designed as a guide for the initial training of raters and referees in holistic evaluation of writing samples. It is intended for use by a single trainer in a group of twelve (nine raters, three referees) trainees. The manual is divided into sections corresponding to the procedures to be used in the training sessions. The left hand…

Technical problems involved in obtaining scores for essays written by teacher candidates are addressed. The rating procedure assures that each essay is read by three raters specially trained for the task. Ratings range from "1" for incompetent or unacceptable to "4" for outstanding. The score assigned to each essay will be the…

Suggests a balance between the student-oriented writing workshop and the instructor-oriented lecture/discussion in dealing with nontraditional students. Discusses background information, assumptions about methodology in teaching writing skills, the workshop model, and the use of the peer response sheet designed to direct discussion. (EL)

The present study investigated the Egyptian postgraduate students' difficulties in writing abstracts in English. In order to achieve the objectives of this study, a list of criteria for writing a good and effective abstract has been developed in the light of the review of literature. Besides, a content analysis of 35 abstracts written in English…

This second volume of "Proving and Improving" collects essays from the First-Year Assessment Listserv, which is hosted by the Policy Center on the First Year of College and the National Resource Center. Like the first volume, this one brings together the nation's leading experts and practitioners of assessment in the first college year.…

Provides annotations of research studies in the areas of language, literature and media study, writing, and English teacher education. (HOD)

Maintains that California teachers are now responsible for preparing students for the new California Learning Assessment System (CLAS) test. Discusses the multiple choice, written response, primary source, and essay writing sections of the test. Provides suggestions for scoring essays and having students evaluate each other's writing. (CFR)

Explored relationships between middle school students' writing processes and their written products. Results suggest that students need to engage in a variety of writing tasks; teachers must be aware of the complexity involved in composing to assess progress; editing must be kept in its proper perspective; and teachers should recognize that…

Research and theory on teaching the writing process is not being widely implemented in public school classrooms. Changes such as a greater emphasis on process in college composition classes and language arts methodology courses as well as careful selection of supervising teachers, inservice programs, and revamping of writing evaluation are needed.…

A holistic approach was used to evaluate student writing skills in a high school that is part of a residential treatment program. Faculty members scored 740 writing samples in the fall and spring of the 1990-91 school year. Good interrater reliability and significant skill gains for students were found. (SLD)

Focuses on acquisition of English by speakers of Jamaican Creole. Examines historical data drawn from reports from the colonial period and highlights the systemic failure of pupils to acquire English. Discusses a recent investigation of secondary schools in postcolonial Jamaica, which finds a similar cycle of underachievement among Creole…