This longitudinal study examined the development of the semantic "strand" (the relationship between drawing and writing, differentiation of literary genres, influence of literature, coherence, and part-whole coordination) of children's writing development over a 5-year period. Subjects, eight girls and nine boys enrolled in a small,…

A study investigated the functional relationship that exists when mental ability and language competence are separately and simultaneously measured with regard to their influence on the effective treatment of verbal information. Data were gathered from 100 men and women, aged 20-60, who were tested for language competence, reading comprehension,…

Designed to help teachers who want to implement an approach to assessment and reporting that supports the wholeness of the teaching/learning/assessment enterprise, this book describes students' accumulation of literacy-related behaviors and attributes and allows for the idiosyncracies of individual learning patterns. The scales presented in the…

This demonstration booklet illustrates the kinds of exercises or test questions and tasks used in the assessment of student achievement in reading and writing by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Each student will be asked to complete the background section and the cognitive sections for one subject, and the assessment will…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 1998 Writing Assessment measured student writing performance at the 4th, 8th, and 12th grades. Scoring guides for three different writing purposes at each grade allowed scorers to objectively evaluate students' work. This issue of NAEPfacts includes a 12th-grade persuasive writing scoring…

The purpose of this "Written Language Developmental Continuum" brochure for preschool-second grade 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 children's…

The writing performance standard descriptors in this paper support the sections of the English/Language Arts Content Standards adopted by the Alaska State Board of Education. It begins with listing competencies associated with speaking and writing well for a variety of purposes and audiences; and thinking logically and reflectively. It then…

This report describes a program for improving student abilities and attitudes toward writing through increased writing time and opportunities. The targeted population consists of second, third, fourth, and fifth grade students at the elementary level in a growing middle class community located in the northwest suburban area of Chicago, Illinois.…

This document compiles the one-page state "snapshot reports" for the 2002 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) writing assessment at grade 4. In 2002, 45 states and 5 other jurisdictions at grade 4 participated in the writing assessment. Two states at grade 4 did not meet minimum school participation guidelines for…

The standards presented in this book, for reading, writing, and mathematics, are those that will be initially assessed by Arizona's Instrument To Measure Standards (AIMS). These standards and those for other content areas will be a road map for education in Arizona. A statewide test is being developed for each of these areas to measure student…

Designed to provide an experience as close as possible to the actual assessment, this paper presents the revised model of assessment in writing for the Michigan High School Test (HST). The revisions incorporated into the paper reflect the testing transition from the High School Proficiency Test to the HST. Session 1 looks at how well students can…

This report is designed for educators who are involved in teaching, developing, or evaluating curriculum in the elementary schools. It describes the content and application of Florida's fourth grade writing test, and it offers suggestions that might be helpful in preparing students for the assessment. The 1990 Florida legislature mandated the…

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) administered Illinois Measure of Annual Growth in English (IMAGE) tests in Spring 2004. IMAGE tests are administered to Limited English Proficient (LEP) students who have been in either a Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) or Transitional Program of Instruction (TPI) program since September 30 of…

Details the history of California's experience with large-scale writing assessment. Describes the introduction, development, and scoring of the California Assessment Program, later renamed the California Learning Assessment System (CLAS). Discusses controversies over removal of certain writing prompts and objections to CLAS. Notes that funding for…

Study tested influence of writing self-efficacy, writing apprehension, and writing aptitude on 181 ninth-grade students. Aptitude and self-efficacy had direct effects on performance. Girls and boys did not differ in aptitude or performance, but girls reported lower writing self-efficacy. Native English-speaking Hispanic students had lower aptitude…