Moving Forward in Writing Program Assessment Design: Why Postmodern Qualitative Assessment Makes Sense

Authors

  • Krystia Nora California University of Pennsylvania

Keywords:

writing, assessment, composition and rhetoric, qualitative

Abstract

An examination of postmodern grounded theory and narrative research methodology philosophies should make us rethink foundational issues in writing assessment design. Postmodern approaches emphasize interpretation and meaning-making, arguing that truths are made rather than found. In fact, many postmodern researchers emphasize the impossibility of objective, reliable results, especially in human research. In a communicative field such as teaching writing, this makes particular sense—the myriad of factors involved in a student writer's progress and in a teacher's ability to facilitate writing development cannot be isolated from each other.

Author Biography

Krystia Nora, California University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Krystia Nora is an assistant professor of English at California University of Pennsylvania. Her interests include composition studies, qualitative studies of composition, writing and healing, literacy studies, retiree writing practices, writing groups, disability studies, rhetoric, philosophies of composition, and writing assessment. She has a passion for teaching composition courses, researching, and writing.

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Issue

Vol. 39 No. 2 (2010): Summer/Fall 2010

Section

Roundtables

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