This article describes two very different projects undertaken in the same basic writing course: collaborative ethnography and ACT test prep. At first glance, it appears that the work on collaborative ethnography accomplished our goal of creating better, more self-conscious writers while the work on test prep achieved our goal of creating better…

Despite multiple and persuasive arguments against the validity of doing so, many basic writers continue to be identified by what Brian V. Street calls the "autonomous model of literacy," a model that research tells us is as artificial and inappropriate as it is ubiquitous. This article describes a curricular response to the political,…

Examines the increasing pressure exerted on high schools to ensure adequate preparation for college, pressure exerted above all by state-mandated tests. Notes that hopes of coping with such pressure rest on understanding its source. Concludes that collaborative ventures between colleges and high schools can transcend a fixation on state mandates…