Dedication and Acknowledgments

Table of Contents

Dedication

This thesis is dedicated to the memory of my late friend Ronnie Wilson. He was the only person in the world who could have talked me into starting this project, but he didn't live to see me finish.

Acknowledgments

I have many people to thank for their support and contributions of labor and ideas to this project. First of all, my wife, Merryl Pisha, and our children, Schuyler, Brady, and Mariah. They sacrificed a quiet lifestyle in rural Vermont to come with me to Cambridge. Once here, they continued to cheerfully make further sacrifices so I could have time to complete my work. I hope that I will be able to repay them.

There are many teachers to be thanked here, and I begin with my ad hoc committee. My advisor and colleague, Dr. David Rose, sets high standards and leads by example. I couldn't ask for better. Dr. John B. Willett has been far more than a methodologist and statistician to me. With the help of Dr. Richard Light and Dr. Judith Singer he has helped me overcome profound misconceptions about statistical analyses and change my entire way of thinking about data. Dr. Colette Daiute provided invaluable guidance in my studies of computer assisted composition and cognitive science.

I would be remiss if I omitted the profound influence of three professors I studied with prior to my dissertation. Dr. Jeanne Chall never let me forget that without research data there is little to be said. Dr. Mary Beth Curtis and Carol Chomsky both taught courses that changed my professional life.

But before I even arrived at Harvard I was indebted to two truly gifted researchers and teachers: Dr. Fran Toomey and Dr. Louisa Cook Moats. They provided my first training in Special Education and I will always reflect their influences.

Finally, I want to thank the many others who helped me with my dissertation. I owe a great debt to the students, teachers, and parents of the Graham and Parks Alternative Public School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Without their patience and support I could never have gathered the data I needed.

I owe a great debt to CAST, and all of the people there. The organization gave me the flexibility I needed to finish this study, and the people all ran a little faster and pulled a little harder to take up the slack in my absence.

Jan Shafer, Lisa Scheig, Lori Bozzi, and Chris Hoeh painstakingly scored protocols for me. Only a true friend would do that for another person.

Charlie Haynes and Jamie Maltzman provided encouragement, help, and some sorely needed laughs at several particularly difficult junctures. The importance of that cannot be overstated.

Finally, I want to thank the first genuine scholar I ever met, Dr. Louis Harap. I remain in awe of his intellect, his dedication to the pursuit of knowledge, and his great human warmth.