Questions Richard Rodriguez' position that linguistic assimilation for minorities is like alchemy, creating something new and greater than what was. Concludes that it is better for teachers to teach students to use the conventions of standard discourse without accepting the ideology of those for whom the standard dialect is the language of…

Claims tests in this country have become political weapons instead of tools designed to assess the value and progress of current curricula. Calls for teachers to take charge of the tools (tests) to use them for the benefit of their students. (NH)

Grades the Educational Testing Service in taking over the National Assessment of Educational Progress literacy project with a "C-", claiming Part One earned a "D" for abandoning some of the most cogent and winning strategies of previous NAEP studies and Part Two earned a "C" for providing confusing unexplained data. (NH

Uses Florida as an example of statewide testing in the United States and presents an unfavorable comparison with the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), to be used in the United Kingdom. Major points of concern are (1) the multiple choice format, and (2) lack of teacher input. (NH)

Criticizes the California Assessment Program (CAP) prior to l987 for testing writing skills objectively. Describes the specific improvements in the new CAP Directed Writing Assessment which focuses on the most important characteristics necessary to a particular type of writing rather than those that are common to all types.(NH)

Describes the Analytic Writing Exchange (AWE) as a cooperative endeavor by teachers who teach students to score writing papers and provide opportunities for students to exchange and grade papers written by their peers in cooperating schools. Claims students in the program become better writers and score better on state tests.(NH)

Noting that English teachers are often overwhelmed by the time they must spend grading papers, claims there is a need to rethink teaching philosophy and suggests specific methods for teaching writing and grading papers based on sound research-based theory. (NH)

Describes a writing project designed to encourage eighth-grade students to examine their past with specific objectives to: (1) complement the speech and reading components of a theme on childhood and youth; (2) introduce or review basic mechanical skills and basic research skills; and (3) introduce basic tools of expressive writing.(NH)

Describes an elective trimester course for sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students designed to introduce Shakespeare using student-centered learning, films, music, art projects, reading, and writing. Students' evaluations of the course were unanimously positive. (NH)

Claims multiple-storyline books will continue to grow in popularity because the reader (1) is the major protagonist; (2) can make plot decisions and become the writer; (3) can choose exciting action; and (4) finds material readily available. (NH)

Nine secondary English teachers articulate their teaching philosophy as they answer the question: "Should English teachers be involved in the teaching of values in the classroom? If so, how?" (NH)

Uses examples from advertisements to support the claim that usage opinions have a minimal influence on actual usage, and formulates a new law of usage, stating that when a language change occurs, some people will adopt it, some will oppose it, and most will ignore it. (NH)

Claims literacy expectations need to be examined and interpreted by teacher-researchers at the local level in order to make sense of National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results, suggesting this information will provide a factual base from which to plan programs. (NH)

Suggests young people can respond to news stories and political issues they feel strongly about through poetry, and presents one student's effective use of satire which lets his emotions "leak through" to the reader. (NH)

Claims students should be allowed to rank, rerank, and reshuffle thinking and then share their views with class members regarding poetry and poets before formal criticism is thrust upon them, and suggests teachers should be careful not to over-analyze and tell students about a poem's significance. (NH)