In addition to determining students' writing proficiency, holistic writing scores obtained through a standardized evaluation provide useful data in making value judgments concerning various aspects of high school writing programs. In a cross-sectional study using holistic scoring, average scores of groups of students can be compared, and the results can identify strengths and weaknesses in course content and standards set for students by teachers. At Mosley High School in Florida, for example, results indicated that the writing performance of students enrolled in writing courses was lower than the performance of students in literature courses. After analyzing these results, a more extensive reading program was instituted in the writing courses in order to improve students' reading, thinking, analyzing and interpretive skills. However, when the scores for accelerated students indicated no greater rate of improvement between grades than for the other tracks (regular and basic), teachers changed their expectations for accelerated students, making the courses more demanding. Complete objectivity is necessary for this type of program evaluation, and caution is needed when choosing outside evaluators, to insure accurate assessment. (MM)