This study describes a program designed to improve students' writing skills in order to improve academic achievement. The targeted population consists of third and fifth grade elementary students in two separate communities ranging from low to middle class, located in two midwestern suburbs of a large city. Evidence for the existence of the…

The purpose of this "Written Language Developmental Continuum" brochure for second through fifth grades is to provide helpful information for parents, teachers, and other adults as they work with young children to advance and refine written language (writing) competence. The brochure is intended to be a useful tool for assessing…

Establishing statewide standards that define what a Minnesota public high school graduate should know and be able to do to function effectively as a purposeful thinker, effective communicator, self-directed learner, productive group participant, and responsible citizen, this legislation outlines the graduation standards in Written Composition that…

This handbook presents an overview of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment and a description of the Writing Assessment. Districts are encouraged to use the procedures and methods described to create prompts and score writing samples as part of their district-level assessment program. After an introduction and overview of the Pennsylvania…

The fifth Assessment of Achievement Programme (AAP) survey of students' attainment in English language was carried out in 1998 by two English specialists from Edinburgh University (Scotland) working with the AAP National Coordinator. Samples of students at P4, P7, and S2 were selected to be representative of students in all mainstream schools.…

This booklet contains some examples of the assessment items used in the fifth English language survey of the Assessment of Achievement Programme (AAP). The examples in the booklet are intended to provide teachers with a clear idea of the range of items used in the survey in the hope that they will provide material for personal professional…

Research suggests that children who do not read at the end of the first grade fail to achieve in almost every other academic area. Given the high price of not learning to read in first grade, Maine schools are asking: Are children entering first grade able to take advantage of formal literacy instruction? Are they leaving first grade reading and…

This handbook guides teachers through nine workshops designed to share strategies for success on writing tests. The workshops in the handbook give practical ideas that can be implemented in the elementary classroom to set the stage for test success without compromising children's growth as writers. Following a foreword by Michael R. Sampson and…

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…