"This book will not merely be significant. It will be required reading for any WPA and for anyone preparing to become a WPA. Moreover, it will raise the level of awareness of and uses for statistical data in our field." --William Condon, Washington State University "[A] valuable scholarly and practical contribution to an understudied area of the field of writing assessment." -- Writing and Pedagogy "?What impresses me most about  Whale  is its systematic attention to the issue of social consequences of assessment programs. In doing so,  Whale  offers its readers--in a way few others have done--a constructive synthesis of work in both the fields of measurement and writing." -- Assessing Writing "[A]n important resource for any writing program administrator or writing program assessment researcher. The book isn't just applicable for graduate students but also for teachers and WPAs.

one of the many strengths of this book is not just how it lays out a compelling way to do sound and thoughtful program assessment, but also how through its many extended examples it argues for writing teachers to be an integral part of the entire ongoing process." --Teaching English in the Two-Year College "[A]n essential guide to theoretical background, writing program development, and writing program assessment in an accessible and usable format. Whether one is seeking to understand the difference between a narrow writing construct sample and a robust writing construct sample, or is needing to develop a vocabulary for engaging and persuading administrators, or is seeking a means for fine-tuning a well-developed program, this text should be central to both design and innovation.  Very Like a Whale: The Assessment of Writing Programs  belongs on every WPA's bookshelf.'"? --Composition Studies.