This study explores the practical effects of lexical and collaborative learning on improving reading comprehension and analytical writing skills among twelfth-grade students in Chinese language classes. A sample of 30 students aged 17 to 19 was selected from a public high school in China. The Chinese Reading Comprehension Skills Test Paper…

Both of us were drawn into the writing assessment field initially through our lived experiences as schoolteachers. We worked in radically different contexts -- Martin was head of a languages department and teacher of French and German in the late 1990s in the UK, and David was a Grade 12 teacher of Academic English in Alberta, Canada, at the turn…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what the nation's students know and can do in various subjects such as mathematics, reading, science, and writing, as well as civics, geography, technology and engineering literacy, and U.S. history. The results of NAEP are…

On the writing component of the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress, 12th grade high school students' scores on argumentative tasks were lower than on tasks that required them to explain or to convey an experience ("National Assessment of Educational Progress," 2011). Similarly, 11th and 12th graders at the research…

We evaluated the narrative and expository writing samples of 12 adolescents with language-learning disabilities (LLD) in Grades 6 to 12 for elements of microstructure (e.g., productivity, grammatical complexity) and macrostructure (genre-specific text structure elements) using an experimental measure. Writing samples were elicited with…

Development of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), and the creation of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Smarter Balanced) and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), changes the pattern of accountability testing. These changes raise the question: "How should NAEP's validity and utility be…

Data is reported as percentages based on proficiency in the subject. "Low-income" on this data sheet means students who qualify for the National School Lunch Program. Reading data is from 2009 National Center for Education Statistics assessments and writing data is from 2002 and 2007. A brief list of references and resources is included.

In today's society, writing with paper and pencil has largely been replaced by writing using a computer. Students are expected to compose on a computer as they move through school and into the workforce. Reflecting the changes in technology, eighth- and twelfth-grade students taking the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) writing…

The purpose of the 2011 NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) Writing Framework is to describe how the new NAEP Writing Assessment is designed to measure students' writing at grades 4, 8, and 12. As the ongoing national indicator of the academic achievement of students in the United States, NAEP regularly collects information on…

The Nation's Report Card[TM] informs the public about the academic achievement of elementary and secondary students in the United States. Report cards communicate the findings of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a continuing and nationally representative measure of achievement in various subjects over time. Nationally…

This report presents results of the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in writing at grades 8 and 12. In this new national writing assessment sample, 24,100 eighth-graders and 28,100 twelfth-graders engaged with writing tasks and composed their responses on computer. The assessment tasks reflected writing situations common to…

Since 2002, the Center on Education Policy (CEP) at The George Washington University, a national advocate for public education and improving public schools, has been studying state high school exit examinations--tests students must pass to receive a high school diploma. This year marks the 11th year CEP has reported on exit exams in order to help…

Test-based accountability programs are designed to promote improved standards of teaching and learning within the systems of education that they are connected to. Brenan [Brenan, A. L. (2006). "Perspectives on the evolution and future of educational measurement." In: Robert (Ed.), "Educational measurement" (4th ed., pp. 1-16).…

The "Evaluation of the National Assessment of Educational Progress: Study Reports" describes the special studies that comprised the design of the evaluation. In the Final Report, the authors presented a practical discussion of the evaluation studies to its primary, intended audience, namely policymakers. On this accompanying CD, readers…

This report provides information about the performance of 2009 graduating seniors who took the ACT as sophomores, juniors, or seniors; and self-reported at the time of testing that they were scheduled to graduate in 2009 and tested under standard time conditions. The ACT is designed for students who plan to attend college, and the report results…