Acknowledgments

Introduction: What is an Alternative?

Part I The Need for Alternative Perspectives

Language, Culture and the Implications of Assessment

Karla Holloway

Towards an Alternative View of Writing Assessment

Loren S. Barritt

Part II Anthropological Perspectives on Assessing Children's Language and Literacy

The Language of Testing: An Ethnographic-Sociolinguistic Perspective on Standardized Tests

Catherine Emihovich

You Can't Get There From Here

David Bloome

Assessing Students as Members of a Literate Community

Beth Gildin Watrous

Jerri Willett

Discussion: Assessment in My World

Maryann Jennings

Part III Socio-Psycholinguistic Perspectives on Assessing Children's Language and Literacy

Judith W. Solsken

Alternative Language Assessment: Communicating Naturally with Students in Assessment Contexts

Helen B. Slaughter

Assessing the Written Language Abilities of Beginning Writers

Jo-Anne R. Wilson Keenan

Looking at Their Own Words: Students' Assessment of Their Own Writing

Susan Benedict

Discussion: Making Assessment a Process

Nina Tepper

Rocio Costa

Part IV Reader Response Perspectives on Assessing Children's Language and Literacy

Children's Response to Literature: Isn't It About Time We Said Good-Bye to Book Reports and Literal Oral Book Discussions?

Kathleen Holland

Susan Lehr

Assessing Literary Understanding Through Oral Language

Joanne M. Golden

Children's Group Discussions of Literature: Fertile Ground for Informal Oral Language Assessment

Lenore Carlisle

Discussion: Unleashing the Potential of Children's Responses to Literature

Leslie Shaw

Deborah G. Jacque

Cheryl L. Taylor

Author Index

Subject Index