School administrators have the challenge of providing high-quality education in all subject areas. Along with this task, administrators must wade through countless programs, curriculums, while ensuring that student needs are met along with required state and local test scores. While the focus on reform has been in math and science, writing…

In the past, literacy was defined as the ability to read and write. According to the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE, 2013), this definition has evolved and expanded to now include the ability to effectively utilize technology, build cross-cultural relationships in order to solve problems, multitask, use multimedia texts in a variety…

This booklet provides Grade 6 teachers, administrators, and students with samples of students' writing that exemplify the criteria used to score students' written responses on the June 1988 Grade 6 English Language Arts Achievement Test. The writing assignment required students to read the beginning of a story and use their imaginations to…

This guide provides general information about the Achievement Testing Program as well as specific information about the design, the composition, and the scoring of the Grade 9 English Language Arts Achievement Test. The guide contains samples of writing assignments and reading selections contained in the test, as well as objectives, explanation of…

An examination was made of a representative sample of language arts subtests on achievement test batteries and language arts textbooks to assess the skills tested and determine the material included in the instructional sequence. The four achievement test batteries were the California Achievement Tests, the Comprehesive Test of Basic Skills, the…

Presenting the full range of students' writing, this paper provides administrators, teachers, and students with samples of students' writing that exemplify the criteria used to score responses to the June 1992 Grade 6 English Language Arts Achievement Test. After an introductory section, the paper presents a general commentary; the writing…

The last of three volumes studying the relationship between writing research and instruction, this four-part report focuses on writing assessment. The first section details specifications for an instrument assessing student writing samples and the following composition skills: word processing, sentence processing, paragraph development,…

Containing the results of Oregon's second statewide analytical writing assessment, this document summarizes the procedures used to evaluate the writing skills of 4,567 eighth graders from 55 schools and analyzes the results. Following an introduction that includes comments from the scoring team, chapter 1 presents a brief history of writing…

Connecticut's Basic Skills Proficiency Test, administered for the sixth time in October 1985, measures reading, language arts, mathematics, and writing skills. The test was intended to identify students who require further diagnosis and remediation in order to participate successfully in ninth grade classes. Results indicated that over 90 percent…

Part 2 of the Alberta (Canada) Education's "Program of Studies for Elementary Schools 1978" (amended 1981), this bulletin describes the planned design, parts, and scoring of the grade six English language arts achievement test to be written in June 1988, and based on curriculum specifications for an integration of thinking and…

Intended for teachers, this document provides curriculum specifications for the Grade 12 Diploma Examinations in English 30 in Alberta, Canada. Introductory information (1) indicates the approximate time to be devoted to teaching various components of the language arts, the relative importance of concepts and skills, and priorities for instruction…

Intended for teachers, this document provides curriculum specifications for the Grade 12 Diploma Examinations in English 33 in Alberta, Canada. Introductory information (1) indicates the approximate time to be devoted to teaching various components of the language arts, the relative importance of concepts and skills, and priorities for instruction…

Statewide competency testing as a high school graduation requirement represents a threat to those who encourage broad notions of reading and writing, even when a number of testing innovations in reading and writing mean a step forward in education. In Alberta, Canada, the English exam comes in a non-academic and an academic version, and…