Studied children's perceptions of what constitutes good writing to see how those might better inform the teacher's instruction. Found that when supported by peers and teachers, the children were able to balance their need to produce conventionally correct writing with their need to make writing interesting to themselves and others. (Author)

Finds that (1) children taught in Spanish did not differ from those taught in English on English reading and writing but were significantly stronger on Spanish reading and writing; (2) being taught literacy in Spanish contributed to performance in Spanish reading comprehension; but (3) being taught in English did not have the same positive effect…

This publication contains Arizona public schools' academic standards for high school. The contents of this document contain: (1) The Arts Standard 2006--High School; (2) Comprehensive Health Education Physical Activity Standards 1997--Proficiency and Distinction (Grades 9-12); (3) Foreign and Native Language Standards 1997--Proficiency and…

A study investigated the effect of word processing on the quality of children's writing. Subjects were 32 fifth-graders in a public school in the suburban town of Livingston, New Jersey. One sample had access to computers in their classroom everyday for writing. The other sample group used computers once a week in the lab; their daily writing…

Noting that statewide writing assessment shows the achievements of Oregon students over the last decade, this booklet explains the results for the 1993-1997 assessments and provides papers illustrating the work that Oregon students in grades 8, 10, and 11 produce on the state test. The booklet's chapters are: (1) The History of Writing Assessment…

A program was implemented to help improve 12th grade Honors English students' writing skills through conferencing. The targeted group consisted of 13 students who experienced difficulties in writing effective written pieces. Their writing included fragments, run-on sentences, and improper use of punctuation. On the Stanford Achievement Test given…

The influence of goal setting and progress feedback on self-efficacy and writing achievement was investigated for 60 fifth-grade children (33 girls and 27 boys) from three classes in two elementary schools. The sample included 37 White, 20 Black, two Hispanic American, and one Asian American students. The students received writing strategy…

A study analyzed the degree to which an African American verbal tradition (Black English Vernacular) survives in the writing of Black students across a generational time span. A total of 867 essays from the 1984 and the 1988/89 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) were subjected to primary trait and holistic scoring analysis, and…

A study examined how college students wrote a critique of a sociology article; which features of written critiques were valued most by professors in the discipline; and whether students' educational level and status predicted the quality of their critiques. Subjects, 32 students enrolled in an upper-level sociology course, read and responded by…

This report provides information on how Hawaii's students performed on the 1987 and 1988 administrations of the Stanford Writing Assessment (which was adopted as part of Hawaii's Statewide Testing Program). Included in the report are a state summary of the performance of students in grades 3, 6, 8, and 10 and an analysis of the assessment results…

This report by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is the first comprehensive effort to assess student achievement in public schools managed by Mosaica Education, Inc., one of the leading private management companies in education, marketing itself to charter boards and school districts since 1997. Schools examined in the report had been…

The purpose of this document is to familiarize educators and parents with the text-based portion of the Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP) writing assessment for third grade. The DSTP writing assessment consists of one "stand-alone" writing prompt (representing 2/3 of the overall writing score) and one "text-based" prompt…

This review examines and summarizes 16 research studies examining the writing self-efficacy beliefs of 6th to 10th grade students. In the majority of the studies, self-efficacy was found to play a primary role in predicting student writing performance. Students with learning disabilities were found to over-estimate their ability to complete…

This book shows how teachers and specialists can be better informed about students' reading and writing abilities by observing students engaged in the processes of reading and writing than by administering isolated tests. The book demonstrates where traditional approaches to assessment fail and how to better help struggling students. Each chapter…

This report provides policymakers, educators, parents, and the community with a general accounting and a concise overview of the performance of Colorado's third, fourth, and seventh grade students relative to the State Model Content Standards in third grade Reading Comprehension, fourth grade Reading and Writing, and seventh grade Reading and…