This discussion of strategies for improving writing evaluation in a course in English as a Second Language begins with a brief review of relevant research and then offers concrete suggestions for improvement in testing. The suggestions are in the form of five general considerations rather than specific test-writing techniques. They include the…

This handbook is one of a series developed in response to requests to provide schools with additional information concerning the written composition portion of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS). The handbook focuses on grades 3 through 5. Following an introduction, the handbook is in two parts. Part 1 contains general information on…

In fall 1993, Golden West College (GWC), in California, participated in a large-scale study coordinated by Computerized Assessment and Placement Programs (CAPP) to gather evidence supportive of the College Board Assessment and Placement Services (APS) tests. The study focused on gathering instructor ratings of student preparedness levels in a…

A study focused on teaching students to write effectively in time-pressure situations, particularly on essay exams. Thirteen sections of freshman composition (205 students) were divided into two treatment groups. Half of the classes completed the exam-taking unit in a standard freshman text. The other half of the classes worked through an inquiry…

To evaluate the writing abilities of American students, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) asked nationally representative samples of fourth, eighth, and twelfth graders--approximately 20,000 students in all--to perform a variety of informative, persuasive, and narrative writing tasks. In addition, students were asked about the…

This study examines the impact of the Pennsylvania writing assessment policy on writing instruction and teaching methodology. Drawing on self-reported teacher perceptions and classroom practices, the study also attempts to identify the factors that influence teacher beliefs and their use of materials and processes related to the state writing…

The purpose of this research was to study the effect of the three different ways of increasing the number of points contributed by constructed response (CR) items on the reliability of test scores from mixed-item-format tests. The assumption of unidimensionality that underlies the accuracy of item response theory model-based standard error…

In this answer booklet, students record their answers to the practice test items for the Ohio Proficiency Tests for grade 6. The practice tests represent the subject tests for writing, reading, mathematics, citizenship, and science. The writing tests allow space for essays based on writing prompts. The items from the other tests are in…

This booklet contains the practice tests for the fourth-grade Ohio Proficiency Tests. The work students do on these tests helps the teacher know how well the student understands the subjects of reading, writing, mathematics, citizenship, and science. The writing test consists of two writing tasks. The other tests are made up of multiple choice,…

The Florida Writing Assessment was implemented in grades 4, 8, and 10 in 1998 as required by the Florida legislature. The assessment is designed to measure students' proficiency in writing responses to assigned topics within a designated testing period. This report contains writing assessment results for the whole state, school districts, and…

The Florida Writing Assessment was implemented in grades 4, 8, and 10 in 1998 as required by the Florida legislature. The assessment is designed to measure students' proficiency in writing responses to assigned topics within a designated testing period. This report contains writing assessment results for the whole state, school districts, and…

This review of the Test of Early Written Language concludes that the test succeeds in identifying students who are below their peers in writing and in measuring long-term gains in written language achievement; but its format makes it difficult to document specific strengths and weaknesses and its reliability; and validity have not been…

The effects of two distinct ways of responding to a student essay (discrete-item attention to form and holistic feedback on meaning) were compared for a linguistically diverse group of 26 first-year college students. Findings suggest that the holistic response is likely to result in improvements in grammatical accuracy. (19 references) (Author/LB)

Research on the utility of feedback to raters in the form of performance reports has produced mixed findings (Lunt, Morton, & Wigglesworth, 1994; Wigglesworth, 1993) and has thus far been trialled only in oral assessment contexts. This article reports on a study investigating raters' attitudes and responsiveness to feedback on their ratings of…

This paper reports on a test that is being used to fulfill a university writing examination requirement for non-native speakers of English. The test, which requires students to read two passages, write short-answer comprehension and synthesis questions, and write an argument essay on a topic related to the passages, replaces a test that was based…