Presents research that validates and refines a computerized system for grading placement exams. Compares computerized ratings to holistic scores, grades earned in courses, and other measures. Calls for additional research on larger populations and greater numbers of textual traits. (HB)

A compositionist teaching high school on an Athabascan Indian Reservation near Anchorage, Alaska, encountered considerable resistance from his students when attempting to see them through a college-prep program. Their initial hostility toward him masked their deep need for an adult role model who was not abusive, neglectful, or alcoholic. It was a…

A study examined the growth in basic writing and grammar skills of 14 developmental English students. The study determined whether a traditional rule-based, form-centered mode of instruction, combined with a limited writing-process approach, had any significant impact on overall writing quality and grammar skills. It used a quantitative,…

Teaching basic writing at an open-admissions, urban, commuter community college involves the instructor with a clientele of student writers with a wide variety and complexity of needs and abilities. According to much research, demands by some scholars for having students write more than just "themes" is inappropriate for such students.…

Discusses how and why a pedagogy of overt comparison between students' home language (vernacular dialects of English) and school language (standard English) helps students learn the more global features of academic writing and the more sentenced-level features of Standard English. Outlines a pedagogy of overt comparison. Notes it motivates…

Delineating the content that must be covered in the secondary schools of the State of Idaho, this guide presents a course of study for teaching English language arts for success in the workplace. Although educators sometimes use the terms interchangeably, the course of study in the guide is not an instructional or curriculum guide--it prescribes…

Presents a longitudinal study of six basic reading and writing students at the University of Florida that traces student progress. Demonstrates that several students experienced progress over a more than three-year span, although improvement was neither linear nor extensive. Identifies growth of metacognitive awareness among students. (HB)

Students from the ages of 13 or 14 onward need to know the "colours of words" which can let them live fully in the rainbow of life, thus eliminating student fears associated with written language and of being pawns of those who have the power of words, especially written words. Colour coding the eight basic types of work that words can…

When English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students were few and far between at college, they were absorbed into regular Freshman English courses designed for, and dominated by native speakers. However, it appears that ESL students are best served by placing them in classes specially designed for their needs, rather than mainstreaming them or placing…

Describes a study comparing English course-level placement based on writing samples and standardized placement scores, as well as two different methods of grading writing samples. Results support the use of writing samples to supplement standardized placement scores as well as the use of a group holistic method of grading writing samples. Includes…

Research has found evidence for the validity of remedial and developmental English courses in preparing students to pass freshman-level English courses. To determine whether similar validity could be demonstrated for remedial and developmental English courses at Tennessee's Walters State Community College, the percentage of former remedial and…

In summer 1990, the English Department of the Metropolitan Community College District (MCCD) in Missouri conducted a self-study to determine whether the English program's subject matter, academic standards, and methods of instruction were consistent with objectives. An Evaluation Committee, consisting of three English instructors representing each…

Considers how sex discrimination and sexist language have affected educational environments, particularly basic writing and English-as-a-Second-Language instruction. Provides four practical suggestions for college teachers of bilingual and/or bidialectical students to alleviate such attitudes and behaviors. (HB)

A program was developed and implemented for use with college freshmen at a community college in southeast Florida whose entrance examination scores fell below the acceptable range for admission into a regular English classroom. These students lacked an adequate background in basic English language skills, had an insufficient understanding of the…

In spring 1992, a mid-term assessment of English 10 students was conducted at Golden West College, in California, in order to compare four course placement methods. English 10, "Writing Essentials," is a nontransferrable course which focuses on paragraph writing and grammar review in order to prepare students for entry into English 100.…