Faced with standardized writing tests, students must write on demand to prompts they haven't chosen. While students have little control over the prompts they must answer or the time and space limitations in which they must answer them, students and teachers have opportunities for meaningful resistance to standardized writing tests in reconsidering…

The purpose of a prominent feature analysis is to describe the stylistic flexibility that a young writer, or a group of young writers, exhibits on a given day, with a given prompt. In prominent feature analysis, there are no guidebooks, no rubrics--just student papers and the expertise of teachers. Teachers come to the papers individually and yet…

During summertime, before school ends and the hard physical labor begins, it is best to reflect on the touchups and renovations that need to be done to a teacher's classroom instruction. This article presents two innovative lesson ideas that will inspire teachers to rethink, retool, and recharge as they decide what some of their summer renovations…

Teachers across the country consider the best methods to teach writing in the middle school and high school. They aspire for students to produce writing aimed at real audiences and purposes, writing that follows the author's thinking and leads readers to discoveries about the topic. Many teachers believe that a formula in writing could offer…

Some "English Journal" ("EJ") readers may fondly (or not so fondly) remember reading lists for college-bound students, which were once routinely distributed to promote the reading of "The Scarlet Letter," "Pride and Prejudice," "The Pearl," and other noteworthy classics. Today, virtually any English teacher would recognize that a focus on solely…

Honoring students' home dialect is a complex task when preparing them to take state writing tests that require the use of Standard English. Working with students who had failed the test and were in danger of not receiving a diploma, Michelle Crotteau created a supportive learning environment in which students could develop linguistic and…

The advantages and limitations of using computers in writing assessment and instruction are discussed. The English teachers feel that even though computers and computer programs offer huge benefits for the teaching of writing to students, they cannot be used as a substitute for humans in the ultimate evaluation of a composition written by them.

Details the history of California's experience with large-scale writing assessment. Describes the introduction, development, and scoring of the California Assessment Program, later renamed the California Learning Assessment System (CLAS). Discusses controversies over removal of certain writing prompts and objections to CLAS. Notes that funding for…