A Program Development Handbook for the Holistic Assessment of Writing

A Program Development Handbook for the Holistic Assessment of Writing PDF Author: Norbert Elliot
Publisher: University Press of America
ISBN: 9780819177049
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description
This book is a major breakthrough for developers of writing assessment programs who must certify the writing competency of undergraduate students. Legislators and accreditation boards across the nation have called for and implemented large scale projects to measure educational outcomes. This single source provides comprehensive information on the history, underlying concepts, and process of conducting a large scale writing assessment program at a specific institution of higher education. The handbook opens with an analysis of the rationale for the assessment of writing during the junior year of the undergraduate curriculum. The authors then turn to a case study of the success of their own institutional wide assessment program. A history is provided of 20th century writing assessment practices; as well, attention is given to defining levels of literacy. After describing an assessment process model, discussion turns to the design of questions, the administration of the assessment, the rating of papers, and the statistical analysis of data. Attention is also given to the design of a course for those who are unsuccessful on the assessment. The study closes with directions for further research and over 200 references in the bibliography.

A Program Development Handbook for the Holistic Assessment of Writing

A Program Development Handbook for the Holistic Assessment of Writing PDF Author: Norbert Elliot
Publisher: University Press of America
ISBN: 9780819177049
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 164

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book is a major breakthrough for developers of writing assessment programs who must certify the writing competency of undergraduate students. Legislators and accreditation boards across the nation have called for and implemented large scale projects to measure educational outcomes. This single source provides comprehensive information on the history, underlying concepts, and process of conducting a large scale writing assessment program at a specific institution of higher education. The handbook opens with an analysis of the rationale for the assessment of writing during the junior year of the undergraduate curriculum. The authors then turn to a case study of the success of their own institutional wide assessment program. A history is provided of 20th century writing assessment practices; as well, attention is given to defining levels of literacy. After describing an assessment process model, discussion turns to the design of questions, the administration of the assessment, the rating of papers, and the statistical analysis of data. Attention is also given to the design of a course for those who are unsuccessful on the assessment. The study closes with directions for further research and over 200 references in the bibliography.

Resources in Education

Resources in Education PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 760

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Book Description


Coming To Terms

Coming To Terms PDF Author: Patricia Lynne
Publisher: University Press of Colorado
ISBN: 0874214823
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 311

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Book Description
In a provocative book-length essay, Patricia Lynne argues that most programmatic assessment of student writing in U.S. public and higher education is conceived in the terms of mid-20th century positivism. Since composition as a field had found its most compatible home in constructivism, she asks, why do compositionists import a conceptual frame for assessment that is incompatible with composition theory? By casting this as a clash of paradigms, Lynne is able to highlight the ways in which each theory can and cannot influence the shape of assessment within composition. She laments, as do many in composition, that the objectively oriented paradigm of educational assessment theory subjugates and discounts the very social constructionist principles that empower composition pedagogy. Further, Lynne criticizes recent practice for accommodating the big business of educational testing—especially for capitulating to the discourse of positivism embedded in terms like "validity" and "reliability." These terms and concepts, she argues, have little theoretical significance within composition studies, and their technical and philosophical import are downplayed by composition assessment scholars. There is a need, Lynne says, for terms of assessment that are native to composition. To open this needed discussion within the field, she analyzes cutting-edge assessment efforts, including the work of Broad and Haswell, and she advances a set of alternate terms for evaluating assessment practices, a set of terms grounded in constructivism and composition. Coming to Terms is ambitious and principled, and it takes a controversial stand on important issues. This strong new volume in assessment theory will be of serious interest to assessment specialists and their students, to composition theorists, and to those now mounting assessments in their own programs.

Early Holistic Scoring of Writing

Early Holistic Scoring of Writing PDF Author: Richard Haswell
Publisher: University Press of Colorado
ISBN: 1607329123
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 351

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Book Description
What is the most fair and efficient way to assess the writing performance of students? Although the question gained importance during the US educational accountability movement of the 1980s and 1990s, the issue had preoccupied international language experts and evaluators long before. One answer to the question, the assessment method known as holistic scoring, is central to understanding writing in academic settings. Early Holistic Scoring of Writing addresses the history of holistic essay assessment in the United Kingdom and the United States from the mid-1930s to the mid-1980s—and newly conceptualizes holistic scoring by philosophically and reflectively reinterpreting the genre’s origin, development, and significance. The book chronicles holistic scoring from its initial origin in the United Kingdom to the beginning of its heyday in the United States. Chapters cover little-known history, from the holistic scoring of school certificate examination essays written by Blitz evacuee children in Devon during WWII to teacher adaptations of holistic scoring in California schools during the 1970s. Chapters detail the complications, challenges, and successes of holistic scoring from British high-stakes admissions examinations to foundational pedagogical research by Bay Area Writing Project scholars. The book concludes with lessons learned, providing a guide for continued efforts to assess student writing through evidence models. Exploring the possibility of actionable history, Early Holistic Scoring of Writing reconceptualizes writing assessment. Here is a new history that retells the origins of our present body of knowledge in writing studies.

Assessment in Technical and Professional Communication

Assessment in Technical and Professional Communication PDF Author: Margaret Hundleby
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1351845861
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 259

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Book Description
A collection of essays that focuses on both how and why assessment serves as a key element in the teaching and practice of technical and professional communication. It offers teachers, students, scholars, and practitioners evidence of the increasingly valuable role of assessment in the field, as it supports and enriches our thinking and practice.

Writing on the Edge

Writing on the Edge PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : English language
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description


Aspects of Language Development in an Intensive English Program

Aspects of Language Development in an Intensive English Program PDF Author: Alan Juffs
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351691171
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
While there is much in the literature on ESL development, this book is the first of its kind to track the development of specific language abilities in an Intensive English Program (IEP) longitudinally and highlights the implications of this particular study’s findings for future IEP implementation and practice and ESL and SLA research. The volume draws on many years’ worth of data from learners at an IEP at the University of Pittsburgh to explore selected aspects of language development, including lexical, grammatical, speaking, and writing abilities, in addition to placement assessment practices and student learning outcomes. A concluding chapter points to the ways in which these findings can be applied to decision making around IEP curriculum development and the future role of IEPs in higher education more broadly. With its focus on students in IEP settings and the concentration on data from students evaluated over multiple semesters, this volume offers a unique opportunity in which to examine longitudinal developmental patterns of different L1 groups on a variety of measures from the same learners and will be key reading for students and researchers in second language acquisition, English for Academic Purposes, language education, and applied linguistics.

Very Like a Whale

Very Like a Whale PDF Author: Edward M. White
Publisher: University Press of Colorado
ISBN: 1457193515
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 211

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Book Description
Written for those who design, redesign, and assess writing programs, Very Like a Whale is an intensive discussion of writing program assessment issues. Taking its title from Hamlet, the book explores the multifaceted forces that shape writing programs and the central role these programs can and should play in defining college education. Given the new era of assessment in higher education, writing programs must provide valid evidence that they are serving students, instructors, administrators, alumni, accreditors, and policymakers. This book introduces new conceptualizations associated with assessment, making them clear and available to those in the profession of rhetoric and composition/writing studies. It also offers strategies that aid in gathering information about the relative success of a writing program in achieving its identified goals. Philosophically and historically aligned with quantitative approaches, White, Elliot, and Peckham use case study and best-practice scholarship to demonstrate the applicability of their innovative approach, termed Design for Assessment (DFA). Well grounded in assessment theory, Very Like a Whale will be of practical use to new and seasoned writing program administrators alike, as well as to any educator involved with the accreditation process.

The Cumulative Book Index

The Cumulative Book Index PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : American literature
Languages : en
Pages : 2216

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Book Description
A world list of books in the English language.

Paperbound Books in Print

Paperbound Books in Print PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Paperbacks
Languages : en
Pages : 1606

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Book Description