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…

The personal statement as an indicator of writing skill was evaluated by comparing personal statements with standardized essay measures of writing ability for 475 graduate students. Correlations of the essay and the personal statement with nontest indicators of writing skill indicate that the traditional essay was more highly related to nearly all…

Describes a study of fifth graders that investigated whether students who compose on the computer write expository texts of longer length, and of better quality, than students composing by hand. Results indicate that the computer alone is not the key to facilitating highly proficient writing. (LRW)

Compares writing products of first graders who were taught to write using a structured approach (including phonemic awareness and phonics training) to the products of students taught using a holistic approach. Finds that children in the structured program wrote more words, wrote better overall compositions, and spelled more words and different…

Examines the effectiveness of the Direct Instruction program "Reasoning and Writing" in improving the writing and reasoning abilities of gifted fifth-grade students. Notes significant improvement in writing skills of students using "Reasoning and Writing," yet no significant difference in reasoning skills. Provides implications…

Provides details of 10 students with learning disabilities or behavioral disorders who were taught in a special education resource room using the "Reasoning and Writing" program. Notes students made large and statistically significant gains. Suggests that a relatively brief intervention with "Reasoning and Writing" had a…

The effectiveness of writing process instruction in the regular classroom with three second grade students (one learning-disabled, one low-achieving, and one gifted student) is described. All three students demonstrated significant growth in punctuation, spelling, capitalization, and fluency during the six-month period. (Author/JDD)

Claims the Australian Literacy Benchmarks for Year 3 and Year 5 set unrealistic standards, are educationally unworkable, and represent an unacceptably imprecise and confusing set of statements and criteria. Compares the Literacy Benchmarks with the New South Wales English Language and Literacy Assessment (ELLA). Claims the Benchmarks represent a…

Summarizes recent developments in the use of technology in schools and state-level testing programs. Presents results of two studies, one with 114 students and one with about 200 students, that indicate that written tests administered on paper underestimate the achievement of students accustomed to working with computers. (SLD)

Finds that the program was somewhat more effective than the traditional (basal) curriculum for teaching word attack and letter-word identification, especially for students in low socioeconomic schools in a metropolitan school district, but that the program was not more effective than the conventional curriculum for more complex language skills…

Describes the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 1998 writing assessment, Includes average scores and achievement-level results for the United States and the states, for demographic subgroups, and for students in a variety of contexts. Also examines the framework and content of the assessment. (Author/SLD)

Discusses guidelines for the use of the Montessori prepared environment in addressing special needs students, focusing on writing and reading difficulties. Examines the value of Montessori's motor and sensory education as a bridge for both typically and atypically developing children. (JPB)

Balanced literacy is a philosophical orientation that assumes that reading and writing achievement are developed through instruction and support in multiple environments in which teachers use various approaches that differ by level of teacher support and child control. The authors describe 1 urban school district's real-world attempt to create a…

Peer review has become commonplace in composition courses and is increasingly employed in the context of telecommunication technology. The purpose of this experiment was to compare the effects of anonymous and identifiable electronic peer (e-peer) review on college student writing performance and the extent of critical peer feedback. Participants…

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…