This article describes one classroom's experience integrating a three-part lesson that focused on tolerance. In the lesson, students examined works by American folk-art painter Edward Hicks, researched quotes about tolerance in society, and applied calligraphy skills to an original composition.

It seems likely that the history research paper at the high school level is now an endangered species. Focus on creative writing, fear of plagiarism, fascination with PowerPoint presentations, and lack of planning time have been joined by a notable absence of concern about term papers in virtually all the work on state standards. As a result, far…

This study assessed the predictive and incremental validity of a prototype version of the forthcoming SAT® writing section that was administered to a sample of incoming students at 13 colleges and universities. For these participants, SAT scores, high school GPA, and first-year grades also were obtained. Using these data, analyses were conducted…

In this article, the authors describe the development of a pilot project called Writing Zones 12.5. Writing Zones 12.5 was created to help students find strategies for solving writing problems and help them become better writers at every stage of the writing process. The project touches on five of the nine principles that Center for Higher…

Journaling is an integral part of staff development because it allows individuals to consider their own learning thoughtfully and it also helps participants analyze their own and other's thought processes and think about how one thinks and learns. This article features Williamson County Schools in Franklin, Tennessee, which created an academy to…

This article examines education law and cultural conditions for teaching and learning in Texas, the state that provided a model for the federal No Child Left Behind Act signed in 2002. Accountability testing is a primary feature of Texas education law and has an enormous impact on public school culture. Of particular interest is Houston, one of…

The 2000 and 2003 international studies of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) among all Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries presented disappointing results for Germany's fifteen-year-old students' reading skills. These studies pointed out two necessities for future reform: to extend the…

This study analyzes the composition by a high school senior of a house design for a class in architectural design. He produced this text in relation to the readings of that text by his teacher and other potential readers. The authors take a Vygotskian perspective to understand the settings, goals, and tools through which he composed his…

Although Toulmin models of argumentation are pervasive in composition textbooks, research on the model's use in writing classrooms has been scarce--typically limited to evaluating how students' essays align with the model's elements (claim, data, warrant, qualifier, rebuttal, backing) construed as objective standards. That approach discounts…

Drawing on sociological and philosophical studies of science, science educators have begun to view argumentation as a central scientific practice that students should learn. In this article, we extend recent work to understand the structure of students' arguments to include judgments about their quality through content analyses of high school…

In this study, we investigated a variety of Reader effects that may influence the validity of ratings assigned to AP® English Literature and Composition essays. Specifically, we investigated whether Readers exhibit changes in their levels of severity and accuracy, and their use of individual scale categories over time. We refer to changes in these…

For several years, the author has been working with colleagues in the Northern California Writing Centers Association (NCWCA) and the Stanford Writing Center to build bridges between college and high school writing centers. The writing center at Stanford defines one of its central goals as "celebrating a culture of writing" for all…

In this article, the author discusses the factors that contribute to the success of International Academy in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan in teaching history to its high school students. In 2003, "Newsweek" ranked the academy number one in the nation. The secret to its success is a combination of high expectations set by both teachers and…

This study was conducted to obtain empirical data to inform policy decisions about exempting incoming students from a first-year composition (FYC) course on the basis of Advanced Placement (AP) English exam scores. It examined the effect of avoiding first-year writing on the writing abilities of sophomore undergraduates. Two three-page writing…

The article explores the use of hybrid linguistic texts in the writing classroom, both as articles of study and possible models of composition. Standard English linguistic supremacy prevents many students from using their full range of linguistic knowledge. The inclusion of hybrid texts in the writing classroom might help students, in particular…