Evaluation of the Alabama Direct Assessment of Writing

Client: SouthEastern Region Vision for Education (SERVE)
Term: February 1998-April 1998
Contact Person: Scott Snyder

The Center for Educational Accountability at The University of Alabama at Birmingham was contracted to perform an evaluation of the Alabama Direct Assessment of Writing Program for the Alabama State Department of Education. The evaluation was comprehensive in that it examined the background literature, the psychometric characteristics of the Assessment, and the impact of the Assessment both quantitatively and qualitatively. The evaluation of the Alabama Direct Assessment of Writing Program illuminated a number of key issues and outcomes. These findings extend the existing knowledge base about state-level performance assessments as well as provide evidence that should be useful to policy-makers in Alabama