Assessment of Writing

by White, Edward M.; Lutz, William; Kamusikiri, Sandra

• ISBN13: 9780873525824
• ISBN10: 0873525825
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1996-12-01
• Publisher: Modern Language Assn of Amer

Summary

Drawing on the latest research, the twenty-two contributions examine how policies shape practices in writing assessment and how policies and practices are intertwined with politics. The volume is divided into five sections, which focus on political and legal issues, the validity and reliability of testing, old and new models of assessment, social inclusion and equity, and future prospects. A thought-provoking response concludes each section.

This volume will engage and inform anyone concerned with composition, including researchers, teachers, graduate students, program administrators, and policy makers.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Series
Introduction	p. 1
Power and Agenda Setting in Writing Assessment	p. 9
Writing Assessment in Florida: A Reminiscence	p. 25
Legal Issues in the Practice and Politics of Assessment in Writing	p. 33
Response: Why Do We Test Writing?	p. 45
The Politics of Validity	p. 53
Essay Reliability: Form and Meaning	p. 76
Response: The Politics of Methodology	p. 97
Essayist Literacy and Sociolinguistic Difference	p. 108
Writing Assessment: Do It Better, Do It Less	p. 120
New Views of Measurement and New Models for Writing Assessment	p. 135
Upper-Division Assessment and the Postsecondary Development of Writing Abilities	p. 148
The Need for Clear Purposes and New Approaches to the Evaluation of Writing-across-the-Curriculum Programs	p. 158
Response: Testing as Surveillance	p. 174
African American English and Writing Assessment: An Afrocentric Approach	p. 187
Gender, Feminism, and Institution-Wide Assessment Programs	p. 204
The Challenges of Second-Language Writing Assessment	p. 226
Response: Awareness of Diversity	p. 241
Computer-Assisted Writing Assessment: The Politics of Science versus the Humanities	p. 249
The Pedagogical Implications of College Placement Portfolio	p. 257
Portfolios in the Assessment of Writing: A Political Perspective	p. 271
Portfolio Approaches to Assessment: Breakthrough or More of the Same?	p. 284
Response: Assessment as a Site of Contention	p. 301
Works Cited	p. 305
Index	p. 333
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