The psychology of writing development—And its implications for assessment

This article reviews key developmental theories that have been adopted by writing development researchers over the last fifty years. It describes how researchers have translated these theories into definitions of writing development capable of influencing curricular design and interpretations of student writing and explores the implications for assessment extended by each theory. This piece examines both the variations in assessment practices/emphases suggested by different developmental theories as well as the shared assumptions about growth to which they lead, arguing that these commonalities should guide efforts to foreground development in the assessment of writing.

► Different developmental theories point to different assessment practices/emphases. ► Still, writing development research is converging on a set of common assumptions capable of informing developmental writing assessment. ► Development is contextual and multi-dimensional. ► Development is influenced by the personal motivations of the individual. ► Development does not always correlate with performance quality.