This volume presents chapters by researchers, practitioners, and policymakers who study the impact of classroom portfolios in the assessment of writing achievement by elementary and middle grade students.
The focus throughout the volume is on the tension between classroom assessment and externally mandated testing. It presents the efforts of researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to understand the impact of classroom portfolios for the assessment of writing achievement by elementary and middle grade students. Under the auspices of the Center for the Study of Writing, the editors...

This book examines the use of mixed methods for conducting language and literacy research, defining how and why this approach is successful for solving problems and clarifying issues that researchers encounter. Using research findings, the authors explore how an intermingling of multiple methods expands the possibilities of observation and interpretation and, ultimately, leads to more robust validity and deeper understanding. Mixed methods approaches address the challenges of our contemporary language and literacy environment, with its increasing student diversity and technological advances....