English Journal, Vol. 103, No. 1, September 2013

Table of Contents

Issue Theme: Knowing Better: Examining Assessment

• Call for Manuscripts [FREE ACCESS]

• From the Editors [FREE ACCESS]

  David Gorlewski and Julie Gorlewski

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  Abstract: The new EJ editors introduce their first issue.

• High School Matters: Assessment: Our (Re)Inventing the Future of English

  Jocelyn A. Chadwick

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  Abstract: Members of the Secondary Section Steering Committee comment on topics of importance to English language arts educators.

• Speaking My Mind: My Assessment Was Flawed. Forgive Me, Mrs. Farr.

  Sharon Kane

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  Abstract: “Speaking My Mind” invites readers to speak out about controversial issues relevant to the teaching of English language arts.

• Asinine Assessment: Why High-Stakes Testing Is Bad for Everyone, Including English Teachers

  Wayne Au and Karen Gourd

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  Abstract: The authors argue that high-stakes, standardized testing contradicts curriculum and instruction aligned with professional standards promoted by NCTE and innovative educators.

• The Whole Is Greater Than the Sum of the Parts

  Marion Brady

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  Abstract: Emphasizing the deficiencies of standardized assessments, the author highlights the complexity of assessment as well as the significance of the teacher-student relationship.

• Common Core State Standards: The Promise and the Peril in a National Palimpsest [FREE ACCESS]

  Arthur N. Applebee

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  Abstract: This article looks at where the CCSS came from, their strengths and weaknesses, and how as a profession we can best respond to the challenges they pose.

• Can Classroom Assessments of Student Growth Be Credibly Used to Evaluate Teachers? [FREE ACCESS]

  W. James Popham

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  Abstract: Should teacher-supplied evidence of student growth—evidence garnered by using classroom assessments—be used to evaluate a teacher?

• The Business of School: Economic Models of Assessment

  Daniel O. Lawler

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  Abstract: This article explores problems with the trend of business language making its way into schools and provides strategies for how to address this issue.

• Rethinking Adolescent Reading Assessment: From Accountability to Care

  Scott Filkins

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  Abstract: The author explores the balance of responsibility for effective formative reading assessment between classroom teachers and the curricular structure within which they work.

• Checking In: Using Informal Communication to Assess Learning in the English Language Arts Classroom

  Tim Pappageorge

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  Abstract: This article explores the use of informal communication as an assessment tool for English language arts teachers.

• Using the Rhetorical Situation to Inform Literacy Instruction and Assessment across the Disciplines

  Sean Hackney and Brian Newman

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  Abstract: The authors describe a framework for approaching how teachers across the disciplines discuss what students are expected to know and how students are assessed.

• A Formative Assessment System for Writing Improvement [FREE ACCESS]

  Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher

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  Abstract: The authors assert that the time that teachers spend providing feedback could better be used to focus on formative assessment systems.

• Toward a Clearer Picture of Assessment: One Teacher’s Formative Approach

  David Peter Noskin

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  Abstract: The author describes the complex process one teacher goes through to create meaningful formative and summative assessments to define and support student learning.

• Drawing Art into the Discussion of Writing Assessment

  Tom Meyer

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  Abstract: This article, grounded in the belief that art is a way of understanding, describes the use of drawing and writing to support metacognition.

• Changing the Game of Literature with Authentic Assessment: The Promise of Multimodal Composing

  Suzanne M. Miller, Merridy A. Knips, and Stephen Goss

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  Abstract: Student digital video composing serves as a powerful means of literature learning and authentic assessment of that learning.

• Achieving through the Feedback Loop: Videogames, Authentic Assessment, and Meaningful Learning

  Sandra Schamroth Abrams and Hannah R. Gerber

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  Abstract: By looking more closely at the videogame feedback model, the authors uncover authentic forms of assessment that can inform student learning.

• Assessment Challenges in the Common Core Era

  Sandra Murphy and Mary Ann Smith

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  Abstract: The authors consider how portfolios can meet the challenges of assessing various aspects of literacy and student learning.

• A Better Grading System: Standards-Based, Student-Centered Assessment [FREE ACCESS]

  Jeanetta Jones Miller

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  Abstract: The author discusses the benefits of a standards-based, student-centered approach to assessment.

• Poem: José

  Karen Maceira

• Profile of Anne McCrary Sullivan

  Nancy Krim

• Poem: Assessment

  Paul J. Willis

• Continuous Becoming: Moving toward Mastery Driven to Succeed

  Megan Freeman

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  Abstract: “Continuous Becoming: Moving toward Mastery” offers suggestions, ideas, and experiences to help novice and veteran teachers discover their own roadmaps toward mastery.

• Speaking Truth to Power: Lou LaBrant: “Not the Time . . . to Follow the Line of Least Resistance”

  P. L. Thomas

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  Abstract: This column seeks to explore the experiences and possibilities that arise when educators speak Truth to power.

• Envisioning Assessment: Fear, Uncertainty, and Dread versus Assessment

  Jed Hopkins

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  Abstract: “Envisioning Assessment” examines the roles assessment might be playing in the “bureaucratization” of our education system and considers the creation of ideal educational world where assessment is supportive of education.

• Soft(a)ware in the English Classroom: Pecs Soviet and the Red Underscore: Raising Awareness of Software’s Role in Our Schools

  Tom Liam Lynch

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  Abstract: “Soft(a)ware in the English Classroom” seeks to identify the ways in which our teaching and learning lives are influenced by software.

• Lingua Anglia: Bridging Language and Learners: Windows of Opportunity: English Learners and the Power of Positioning

  Pamela J. Hickey

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  Abstract: “Lingua Anglia: Bridging Language and Learners” discusses critical, transformative, and powerful ways to support students’ acquisition of Standard English.

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