Writing, assessment, and the authority of the disciplines

Abstract

The writing program at Cornell University involves professors from across the disciplines teaching writing courses at each level of students’ undergraduate careers. This program undertook an assessment of its effectiveness in the years 2002-2004. The process of creating and carrying out an assessment developed by professors involved in the program is reported, and the assessment results are presented. These results lead the writer to argue for the assessment process itself as a key experience in developing the disciplinary awareness of participating professors, who became involved in deep questioning of what ‘good’ student writing might be in higher education, and in what relationship to the language practices of each discipline. The assessment project’s challenges and benefits support the value of assessment of students’ work across disciplines as fundamentally owned by each discipline.