Composition in the Context of the CAP: A Case Study of the Interplay Between Composition Assessment and Classrooms

Abstract

What happens when a state's curriculum and assessment policies are in conflict? This article reports on a case study of how 2 eighth-grade, writing teachers in California interpreted and enacted the state's high-stakes California Assessment Program (CAP) direct writing assessment in their classrooms and compares the resulting writing instruction with the ideal presented in California's Handbook for Planning an Effective Writing Program (California State Department of Education, 1986). The principal encouraged all teachers to achieve curriculum alignment with the test; in fact, each target teacher defined and enacted curriculum alignment differently. On one hand, teacher statements indicated that the exam motivated them to prioritize writing instruction. On the other hand, the way the teachers interpreted the CAP materials and consequently approached writing instruction conflicted at points with the state's own curricular recommendations. Reciprocally, the roles and relationships established in the classroom influenced the administration of this assessment. I conclude that teachers' and administrators' interpretations of an assessment are most salient to its classroom implications, and therefore instructional validity (Garcia & Pearson, 1991) of large-scale tests is critical.