Considers Mina Shaughnessy's metaphor likening the experience of basic writers to that of "uncultured natives" under European colonization. Advocates decolonizing the classroom by devising a pedagogy of voice in a dialogized space that is continually reconstructed from different locations and identities. (HB)

Compares the work of nineteenth-century Scottish philosopher George Jardine with the work of modern theorists, particularly Mina Shaughnessy. Shows how they all created similar plans for meeting the needs of students without the basic skills needed for traditional modes of instruction. (HB)

Remedial writers tend to be students who have never written very much, who come from families or neighborhoods in which more than one language may be spoken, and who have sensed their problems but have been unable or unwilling to do much to alleviate the difficulties. Unfortunately, the environment and attitudes of many college remedial programs…

Argues that teaching reading and writing is not a matter of correcting errors or teaching the five-paragraph essay. Claims that it is instead a process of interdependence between the public and private, the individual and the group. Calls for a recognition of the role of interpretation in all meaning-making. (HB)

The literacy problem in the Cleveland area and recommendations for dealing with it are presented in this booklet. Beginning with a definition of literacy and a discussion of the human costs and economic consequences of illiteracy, the booklet advocates reducing adult illiteracy, eliminating basic skills deficits, and improving communications…

Claims that recent reassessments of Mina Shaughnessy's "Errors and Expectations" and the field of composition in the 1970s overlook the institutional forces that helped shape the rhetoric and methodology of researchers at that time. (HB)

This criticism of writing competency tests questions both the efficacy of a test developed by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the reliance of individual states on the products of private testmakers. The paper suggests that a hidden curriculum is being developed by independent and semi-independent organizations that…

Briefly discusses the development of writing in young children. Describes children's acquisition of concepts about writing, their experimentation with written language, and their construction of written language for themselves. (AS)

Challenges several myths about writing assessment held by educators. Argues for the validity of assessments developed within particular environments for particular purposes agreed to by those teaching within those environments. Celebrates the lack of conformity in grading as a sign of a rich and nurturing environment for the development of writing…

Describes a basic writing program which provides an enabling environment to give students opportunities and a plan for composing sentences and texts and interacting with readers, through such techniques as collaborative learning, writing as process, and sentence combining. Offers profiles of typical basic writers including examples of their work.…

Offers an appreciative assessment of the scholarship and value of Mina Shaughnessy's "Errors and Expectations." (RL)

Cautions against overemphasizing poor mechanics and overlooking content in writing classes as an overreaction to the problem of deteriorating writing skills. (MKM)

Defines literacy as the ability to make good-mannered sense in reading and writing to the satisfaction of those in power with respect to the task at hand. Lists educational essentials necessary to produce a literate populace, offers a critique of current schools, and recommends an experiential approach to teaching reading and writing. (AEA)

Contends that evaluations of student writing come not from some transcendent realm but from the discursive practices by which teachers authorize themselves within a given community. Argues that basic writers need explicit knowledge of such practices, and proposes a language-centered curriculum to teach it. (HB)

Relates Victorian attitudes toward education by a forgotten 19th century liberal educator concerned with proper moral education. Concludes that uses and development of basic literacy are severely bound by individual and social contexts and that basic literacy does not, in itself, wield a magical transforming power for learning and life. (TRS)