The University of California, Irvine Writing Project's (UCI Writing Project's) Pathway to Academic Success project (Pathway) aims to improve students' academic writing through professional development for secondary English language arts (ELA) and advanced English language development (ELD) teachers. Based on evidence of Pathway's previous success…

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…

Describes how two low-achieving, high-poverty school districts raised the test scores of their students. The El Centro school district's inquiry-science approach raised elementary science test scores, as well as mathematics and reading scores. Twin Falls improved test scores by adopting the Standardized Timed Curriculum, which involved components…

This booklet outlines the California state guidelines for writing which assert that students should be carefully taught to read and compose many types of discourse to prepare them for higher education, the job market, and citizenship in democracy. The booklet summarizes the purposes for which the California Assessment Program (CAP) was developed,…

Rapid technological advances in the last decade have sparked educational practitioners' interest in utilizing laptops as an instructional tool to improve student learning. There is substantial evidence that using technology as an instructional tool enhances student learning and educational outcomes. Research suggests that, compared with their…