Instructor: Branson T 5:00 PM – 7:50 PM
The goal of this course is to investigate the history, theory, and practice of writing assessment in the United States. The main tenant that drives this investigation is that evaluating writing of any type is an expression of what one values about writing. As such, we will focus not just on how to assess writing, but also the various assumptions people have made about writing throughout the history of the discipline. For example, how have scholars grappled with questions of ethics in writing assessment? How do we know if certain assessments are valid and/or reliable? How has increased interest in diversity, equity, and inclusion policies in higher education pushed against traditional approaches to writing assessment? And, to complicate matters, it’s not just writing studies scholars and teachers who are engaged in these issues: testing companies, philanthropic organizations, education think tanks, and state and local governments are also heavily invested in assessing writing. Thus, another important question to consider is how the “business” of writing assessment has impacted practices across higher education. As we will see, the “fight” over how to define and measure writing proficiency is very much contested; and it is neither inevitable nor immutable. Hopefully, these endeavors will provide us with a foundation upon which we can build and innovate as we strive to make more thoughtful contributions to writing assessment in our own careers.