Essay tests are widely used to assess ESL/EFL learners' writing abilities for instructional, administrative, and research purposes. Relevant literature was searched to identify 70 empirical studies on ESL/EFL essay tests. The majority of these studies examined task, essay, and rater effects on essay rating and scores. Less attention has been given…

Notes that high school counselors may be called upon to write letters supporting student applications to local community scholarship organizations. For those counselors asked to write such letters of recommendation to these groups, a number of suggestions are offered and discussed. (NB)

The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Proficiency Guidelines are first reviewed and analyzed, followed by an analysis of the Spanish language writing produced by students at a very selective, private university who were enrolled at different levels of Spanish language study. (75 references) (LB)

Principles of writing assessment with at-risk students are explained, including the importance of identifying the purposes of assessment, assessment in the classroom context, and inclusion of children's and parents' perspectives in assessment of the child's writing progress. (DB)

Differences in girls' and boys' writing are felt to stem from cultural experiences relating to their reading and viewing. The aim of teachers should not be to produce degendered narrative but to encourage the complementary components of assertiveness, reflectiveness, and awareness of opposed values in both boys' and girls' writing. (JDD)

Traditional Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals focusing on mastery of skills taught in isolation are inappropriate for primary-level whole-language classrooms containing children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Sample goals and objectives that measure students' growing ability to read and write are presented. (JDD)

Compared to 92 low-achieving and high-achieving students, 46 intermediate grade learning-disabled students wrote compositions, wrote summaries, and produced comprehension recalls that were less organized and contained fewer ideas. Interviews indicated that learning-disabled students possessed less knowledge about processes related to…

This study of 40 junior high school students with learning disabilities and 20 control students found that significant intergroup differences in the quality of narrative compositions were not evident when students were allocated time for planning and were given "Create a Story" cues. (Author/JDD)

This article provides specific recommendations for teaching students with learning disabilities how to use a story grammar cueing system for improving writing. The article emphasizes the importance of individualizing instruction and teaching for generalization, and discusses the purpose of the system and methods of assessment. (JDD)

Describes how simple curriculum-based assessments can be used to evaluate the writing process, the product factors (fluency, content, conventions, syntax and vocabulary), and the writing purpose of students who are deaf or hard of hearing. A process checklist is included that can be used to assess strategies students do or do not use when writing.…

This paper reviews the popular myths and facts about handwriting instruction and handwriting difficulties, examining two of the most common problems leading to difficulties with handwriting (dyslexia and dysgraphia). The paper also provides suggestions for helping students with handwriting difficulties. (SM)

Examines the areas of visual and physical efficiency that are important to reading and writing braille or large print and conditions and modifications that may be used to make the selected media effective for individuals who have both visual and physical impairments. (Author/DB)

Intermediate grade students with learning disabilities learned to work in pairs to help each other with editing and revising of their compositions. The 13 subjects made more revisions and produced papers of higher quality when revising with peer support than did 16 students in a process-approach control group. (Author/JDD)

Twenty-six articles including information about the cognitive and academic characteristics of learning-disabled college students are reviewed, focusing on levels of intellectual functioning, reading achievement, mathematics achievement, written expression, and foreign language performance. Research needs and implications for service provision are…

This paper proposes the use of portfolio assessment practices to evaluate literacy development in students of diverse ability levels. It examines how to assist students in becoming self-evaluators and discusses problems inherent in relying exclusively on end-product assessments. Sample observation forms and student checklists are provided.…