Policy Issues

TR 62. Nested Contexts: A Basic Writing Adjunct Program and the Challenge of "Educational Equity," by Anne DiPardo. This study examines one university's efforts to promote the academic success of underrepresented minority students through a basic writing adjunct program. DiPardo considers interactions between selected small-group leaders and their students in light of the wider departmental and campus-wide contexts and the tensions and controversies surrounding the university's efforts to promote "educational equity." May, 1992; 50 pages; $4.50.
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OP 10. Contextual Complexities: Written Language Policies for Bilingual Programs, by Carole Edelsky and Sarah Hudelson. Because learning to write always happens in multiple and complex contexts, Edelsky and Hudelson argue for governmental policies for bilingual education that are broad and non-specific, linked to general goals, with local policies developed locally as the local situation dictates. June, 1989; 16 pages; $3.50.
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OP 24. Language Minority Education in Great Britain: A Challenge to Current U.S. Policy, by Sandra Lee McKay and Sarah Warshauer Freedman. McKay and Freedman compare British and U.S. policies for educating language minority students and show how these policies reflect different assumptions about language development and different definitions of equal opportunity. They suggest ways the British decision to place language minority students in "mainstreamed" classrooms, where language specialists work side-by-side with the classroom teacher, challenges the U.S. policy of separate programs for nonnative speakers. January, 1991; 16 pages; $3.50.
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OP 25. Peeking Out from Under the Blinders: Some Factors We Shouldn't Forget in Studying Writing, by John R. Hayes. This essay is written for researchers and educators as a reminder of the broad range of factors that have a crucial impact on how writers write. To combat a narrowing of focus as writing researchers become preoccupied with more specialized research interests, Hayes proposes a checklist of six diverse factors that have been shown to have an important impact on writing performance. February, 1991; 16 pages; $3.50.
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OP 27. Evaluating Writing: Linking Large-Scale Testing and Classroom Assessment, by Sarah Warshauer Freedman. Freedman focuses on two currently distinct kinds of writing evaluation: large-scale testing at the national, state, district, or school level; and classroom assessment by teachers looking at the writing of their own students. To help bridge the wide gap between teachers of writing and the testing and measurement community, Freedman describes several portfolio assessment programs that offer potential models for ways to strengthen both large-scale evaluation and classroom instruction. May, 1991; 20 pages; $3.50.
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OP 38. School Reform through Examinations: Lessons from the British Experience, by Sarah Warshauer Freedman. Recent calls for national achievement examinations for American students appear to be modeled on the British examination system. In this paper, Freedman considers the effects of the British examination system on what and how students learn in one area of the curriculum, English language and literature. She presents evidence that suggests that a system of high-stakes examinations, even well-designed performance-based examinations, presents a flawed foundation on which to build an educational reform movement. She further argues that a stronger foundation for educational reform will likely come through working with teachers and school administrators to rethink and reshape the curriculum as well as the organization of the school, with testing following from, not leading the reform effort. June, 1994; 12 pages; $3.50.
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