The report by the National Assessment of Educational Progress entitled "Poor Writing Performance Blamed on Scant Writing Practice" makes it clear that little progress has been made in the improvement of students' writing. This is true in part because the conditions for teaching writing are unsatisfatory. The time has come to undertake a major series of efforts to alter public and administrative attitudes on the matter of class size, teacher load, and other circumstances that have negative effects on the teaching of writing. The headquarters staff at the National Council of Teachers of English, in cooperation with its Standing Committee on Affiliates, has been developing materials to launch public relations efforts on issues that affect the teaching of English. Research shows a need for radical reduction in class size and radically different methods of instruction. Professionals in the field of English need to speak out loudly on the issues of class size, workload, and the general conditions for teaching writing. (SRT)