Abstract

This article presents research from a qualitative study of the way that reflective writing is solicited, taught, composed, and assessed within a state-mandated portfolio curriculum. The research situates reflective texts generated by participating students within the larger goals and bureaucratic processes of the school system. The study finds that reflective letters are a genre within the state curriculum that regulates the substance and tone of students’ reflections. At the classroom level, the genre provides a mode that students adopt with the assurance that their reflections will meet state evaluators’ expectations. At the bureaucratic level, the genre helps to continually validate the state’s portfolio curriculum through its strong encouragement of stylized narratives of progress. The study demonstrates the importance of understanding how large-scale assessments shape pedagogy and students’ writing.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
2005-01-01
DOI
10.1177/0741088304271831
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (4)

  1. Reflections: A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric
  2. Assessing Writing
  3. Assessing Writing
  4. Written Communication

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