Minnesota Adult Basic Education (ABE) providers are mandated to use CASAS (Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System) Reading or Math or TABE (Tests for Adult Basic Education) Reading or Math. This issue of "NetNews" introduces the Test Bank: a variety of informal reading, spelling, and writing assessments available for Minnesota ABE…

This investigation examined the impact of opportunity to learn content and skills targeted by a writing assessment on the achievement of English learners (ELs), including the potential for differential impact of increased exposure to literary analysis and writing instruction. Results revealed several factors contributing to students' writing…

This paper presents an empirical study investigating the relationship between vocabulary size and the skills of listening, reading and writing in English as a foreign language (EFL). The participants were 88 EFL learners from lower secondary education whose language skills were assessed as part of the national school leaving examination in…

Since the 1980s, composition studies have considered the steps to be taken before assessment: designing the test essay question. While large-scale assessment has little control over writing variables (such as students' learning styles, their reading ability, and their interpretation of the topic), the content or the topic of the writing prompt and…

This paper reports on the myriad difficulties in getting rid of an unsatisfactory writing examination in place at Western Washington University. First, the paper provides background information on how and why the exam (the Junior Writing Exam) came to be adopted in the 1980s (as a diagnostic test only) and explains what the exam was meant to…

Shares instructional practices based on narrative and expository texts that will build students' literacy skills and meet many writing assessment demands in the United States. Presents guiding principles for best writing practice, pertinent standards in the English language arts, strategy-based lesson plans, and practical implications for teachers…

Outlines the series of decisions involved in selecting and then using sample papers in holistic evaluation. Attempts to make test-developers aware that they have choices to make and that their choices will have serious consequences for student and evaluator alike. (RS)

Discusses the use of entrance tests to admit students to mass communication programs. Advocates finding out precisely what an entrance test measures, and whether it matches what the curriculum demands of students. Recommends two essay tests that evaluate writing skill better than an objective test. (SR)

Examined the possibility of effects of pencil diameter on preschoolers' pencil management and performance. Each child used pencils of large or regular diameter to perform graphomotor tasks. There were no apparent differences in pencil management and performance related to pencil diameter. (Author/BB)

Contains the guide used by scorers of eighth grade informative writing in the 1998 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), samples of student responses at each of the six levels of performance, and a discussion of the scoring method. (Author/SLD)

The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority's (QCA) radical decision to allow bilingual dictionaries in GCSE modern languages examinations from 1998 was subsequently reversed, and by 2003 dictionaries were no longer allowed in any public examinations at any level. The removal of dictionaries appeared to be based on one study that concluded that…

This paper discusses the method, results, and implications of a study of undergraduate student writing at a large, diverse research university, and makes the case for grounding substantive writing assessment in local stakeholders and formative design. Data were collected from multiple sources: writing samples obtained from courses across…

The main purpose of the study was to investigate the distinctness and reliability of analytic (or multitrait) rating dimensions and their relationships to holistic scores and "e-rater"® essay feature variables in the context of the TOEFL® computer-based test (CBT) writing assessment. Data analyzed in the study were analytic and holistic…

In order to examine how large-scale testing affects writing pedagogy and students' composition processes, the author conducted a study that centered on two high school senior English classes in the state of Kentucky. Since 1991, Kentucky has implemented a large-scale writing assessment and system of teacher and school accountability. Generating…

The use of computer programs that can be used to correct and assess students' written work in the EFL classroom has become more commonplace within the last decade. This paper discusses the role of CALL in the process of data collection, standardisation of assessment criteria and compilation of the number of errors in the areas of grammar learning…