Teaching Writing in a Time of Reform

In this article we trace the history of reform in writing instruction and place it in the context of current educational reform initiatives. We examine the dilemmas teachers and teacher educators face as they seek to balance their concern for maintaining and fostering what is known about the teaching and learning of writing with the growing focus on achievement on highstakes assessments. We describe our own experiences with the dilemmas. Policies related to standards setting and large-scale assessments are discussed in terms of their potential for positive and negative outcomes. We portray educators as concerned practitioners, not as superheroes or disenchanted workers, and as individuals faced with challenges but confident in themselves as learners and problem solvers.