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Article: What's new in ... the formative assessment of writing.(Forms and Functions of Formative Assessment)
- Article from:
- The Clearing House
- Article date:
- November 1, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Heldref Publications. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Writing assessment continues to be of unprecedented concern to America's elected officials and hence to its school professionals. Virtually every state legislature has mandated tests of writing, the first commonly surfacing at grade four, the last in the senior high school. Unfortunately, it can be argued that writing tests help to determine where one falls, and where one will fall in the future, on the nation's socioeconomic continuum. The linguistically capable invariably enjoy, and are destined to enjoy, a quality of life unavailable to the linguistically limited.
There is no reason for cynicism, however. Writing is learned behavior, middle school and high school ...