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ERIC Number: EJ1081658
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006
Pages: 13
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1522-7502
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Embracing the Exit: Assessment, Trust, and the Teaching of Writing
Eng, Joseph
Composition Forum, v16 Fall 2006
Historically, the Composition Program at Eastern Washington University (EWU), a comprehensive university in Cheney, WA, required a single essay sample from each composition student as the final exit exam; in practice, a student passed or failed the course based on an in-class argumentative essay, written in three consecutive class periods. Such a practice had enjoyed some success, reflected in part by the program pass rate, on an average, at 85% from around seventy E101 sections annually since 1999. Within the curriculum and teaching contexts, however, many instructors--including teaching assistants, lecturers, and different program directors--continued to express pedagogical concerns, especially regarding the wide-ranging individual class pass rates. Joseph Eng begins this article by announcing that he wanted to implement an exit writing portfolio at Eastern Washington University. Eng says that he also wanted to help new teachers develop and understand the context of writing assessments as well. Seeking to be better informed in order to improve the midsize composition program at Eastern Washington, Eng became interested in situated practices, essentially how something has been done, is being done, and why. This article recaptures the transition in the exit measure at EWU its history and local context, and its place in the annual mandatory 3-Day PreFall Teaching Workshop. During the year of implementation, several assessment initiatives were answered in the assessment report. This article provides a succinct version of the report including the Program goal, its assessment instrument, scores, and recommendations. Based on survey responses, the exit portfolio implementation year appears to have been successful.
Association of Teachers of Advanced Composition. e-mail: cf@compositionforum.com; Web site: http://compositionforum.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Washington
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A