| This study examined, through a mixed methods approach, university students' perceptions of writing assessment, specifically focusing on high school experiences that influenced students' current writing processes. Over 100 students responded to an online survey with both Likert scale items and one open-ended question. After determining there was no correlation between variables, three t-test comparisons were used to compare students who had taken multiple direct writing assessments with those who had taken none, students who scored above and below the institutional ACT average and students who attended a public and those who attended a private high school. Again, several different items were found to have statistically significant differences for each comparison. The researcher then interviewed eight university students about their high school experiences with writing and if these influenced their current writing process, attempting to gain a deeper understanding of the differences reported in the quantitative data.;Several themes emerged from the open-ended responses and the interviews, which were supported by the quantitative data, including the influence of one particular teacher, tracking in high school, five paragraph essay format, and the perceived differences in high school and university writing. Respondents, with few exceptions, did not believe writing for assessments or preparation for these assessments, including the new ACT essay section and state assessments, had helped them at the university level because the type of writing was not used at the university level and the limited time period did not make the writing representative. However, respondents acknowledged the necessity of some type of test to evaluate writing, and those students who participated in Advanced Placement courses in high school recognized the influence these courses had on their current process. Although the writing processes reported by students varied somewhat, most students indicated they used an outline as prewriting. Most students wrote their assigned papers in one sitting following their intended outline and revised only at the sentence or word level. This exploratory study at one university indicates that further study is needed to examine if direct writing assessments impact the way students write at the postsecondary level. |
