National and State Writing Tests: The Writing Process Betrayed

Interesting article from Phi Delta Kappan

Does this sound familiar:

On other national and state tests, how much time are students given to prewrite? And how much time should prewriting take? The answer to the first question varies widely. A few states say that they give students unlimited time, but this claim is often hedged. In an e-mail correspondence, for example, one state department of education official told me that 1) the state's language arts test has no time limit, 2) it must be completed in one day, and 3) "three hours is plenty of time for most students to finish the writing exam." In another state, the students theoretically have "all day" to complete the writing test, but relatively short time limits are "suggested."