The authors surveyed graduate programs to see how they use the Graduate Record Examination Analytic Writing (GRE-AW) Test. Only 35% of the graduate programs that responded use the GRE-AW test in their admission policy; of the programs not using it, most do not plan to do so. The programs using the GRE-AW rated it as medium or low in importance in…

In response to a growing demand for highly proficient speakers of foreign languages, both from private and government sectors, an added emphasis has been placed on immersion-type programs that offer extensive contact time in a target language. Although time in a target language certainly plays a valuable and needed role, this research demonstrates…

The purpose of the current study was to analyze the relationship between automated essay scoring (AES) and human scoring in order to determine the validity and usefulness of AES for large-scale placement tests. Specifically, a correlational research design was used to examine the correlations between AES performance and human raters' performance.…

The present study employed multi-faceted Rasch measurement (MFRM) to explore the rater bias patterns of native English-speaker (NES) raters when they rate EFL essays. Forty NES raters rated 40 essays written by female Japanese university students on a single topic adapted from the TOEFL Test of Written English (TWE). The essays were assessed using…

This study of 118 students who placed into basic skills sections of College English suggests that students' self-beliefs may be a particularly important predictor of success in weak writers in first-semester courses. Two types of writing self-efficacy scales--a writing tasks/skills scale and an approach-to-writing scale--were developed to follow…

While formal, standardized assessment instruments provide valuable and necessary information about students' various abilities and skills, the use of informal and qualitative assessment approaches has the benefit of leading directly to instruction based squarely on an individual student's needs, strengths, and existing skills. This article…

This paper is an examination of statewide district writing achievement gain data from the Nebraska Statewide Writing Assessment system and implications for statewide assessment writing models. The writing assessment program is used to gain compliance with the United States No Child Left Behind Law (NCLB), a federal effort to influence school…

This article explores the use of scoring rubrics in the context of deteriorating material conditions of writing instruction. The author hopes to offer a consideration of rubrics that enables a revision of rubric designs, in order to facilitate teacher response to student writing, and that offers suggestions for uses of rubrics that account for…

This paper provides information about Virginia's Standards of Learning (SOL) End-of-Course Exams. The purpose of the end-of-course assessments is to measure the achievement of students on the Standards of Learning adopted by the Virginia Board of Education for specific high school courses, and to ensure that students graduating from Virginia…

What are the most effective methods for teaching writing across grade levels and student populations? What kind of training do teachers need to put research-validated methods into practice? This unique volume combines the latest writing research with clear-cut recommendations for designing high-quality professional development efforts. Prominent…

In order to motivate university students to improve their English proficiency, the Hong Kong government decided to adopt a common exit English language test for all graduating students. In the process of selecting a suitable measure for this purpose, an empirical study with a sample of over 240 students was conducted to compare two English…

The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority's (QCA) radical decision to allow bilingual dictionaries in GCSE modern languages examinations from 1998 was subsequently reversed, and by 2003 dictionaries were no longer allowed in any public examinations at any level. The removal of dictionaries appeared to be based on one study that concluded that…

This paper provides information about New Mexico High School Competency Examination (NMHSCE), a minimum competency test. Its purpose is to meet a state mandate. It will be replaced by the Grade 11 Standards Based Assessment/High School Graduation Assessment (SBA/HSGA) in spring 2011 as the state's high school exit exam. The NMHSCE was administered…

No published studies have sufficiently focused on essay topic writability from the perspective of college writers of the new millennium including native English speakers and ESL speakers. In this study, 500 college writers in Metro Toronto in Canada were interviewed to uncover if they found some essay topics easier than other topics. The results…

Minnesota Adult Basic Education (ABE) providers are mandated to use CASAS (Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System) Reading or Math or TABE (Tests for Adult Basic Education) Reading or Math. This issue of "NetNews" introduces the Test Bank: a variety of informal reading, spelling, and writing assessments available for Minnesota ABE…