The National Writing Project (NWP) has expanded its national portfolio of research projects conducted at local Writing Project sites to 16 studies that examine professional development, teacher practices, and student writing achievement. NWP sites emphasize common principles of high-quality instruction and the professional development necessary to…

This report describes the findings for an analysis of data provided by the Re-Inventing Schools Coalition (RISC). A comparison was made between schools at seven districts that employ the RISC model and eight non-RISC districts (hereinafter referred to as RISC and non-RISC schools) on the percentages of students who scored proficient or above on…

This study provided an analysis of Hispanic 10th grade student academic achievement in the areas of mathematics, reading and writing as measured by the Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards. The study is based on data of 163 school districts and 25,103 (95%) students in the state of Arizona as published by the Arizona Department of Education.…

Students' academic self-concepts have a reciprocal relationship with their academic performance, so high academic self-concepts are desirable. Yet, academic self-concepts typically decline during the late elementary and early middle school years. Little is known about how students' academic self-concepts are influenced to change. Fifth and sixth…

Evidence was collected regarding changes over 3 years in the quality of a preprimary program in rural Bangladesh and differences in school achievement of children who did and did not attend. The quality of 30 preprimary schools was evaluated using the ECERS-R (Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised) and ECERS-E (-Extension). Results…

The purpose of this study was to investigate ESL students' performance and strategies when writing direct and translated essays. The study also aimed at exploring students' strategies when writing in L2 (English) and L1 (Arabic). The study used a mixture of quantitative and qualitative procedures for data collection and analysis. Adapted strategy…

The ability to express meaning in prose is a foundational skill in our society. Given the importance of being a competent writer, concern with the quality of writing instruction is a recurring theme among American educators (Cutler & Graham, 2008; Gilbert & Graham, 2010; National Commission on Writing, 2003, 2004, 2006). Research shows…

This study explores the effects of a Two-Way Bilingual Immersion (TWBI) program on language majority and minority students. The fundamental hypothesis was that the process of receiving instruction in two languages (English and Spanish) throughout elementary school (i.e., attendance at a TWBI school) would help the native Spanish-speaking students…

Blogs in classrooms represent a new approach to teaching writing that is developing and changing daily. Although some scholarly literature explores the use of blogs in educational settings, the blogs are primarily being used at the secondary and college levels. The purpose of this qualitative case study research was to explore how blogging…

A challenge for todays instructional leaders is identifying the most effective method of educating English Language Learners (ELLs) who participate in the English as a Second Language (ESL) program. The primary purpose of the study was to compare the effectiveness of three programs used for ESL students in twelve elementary schools in a Urban…

This study examined outcomes of using a generative multimedia environment for writing. Students in grades 9 to 12 enrolled in a special education language arts class participated in an eight-week intervention during which they wrote five stories that included pictures, audio, and text. Stories were scored using a Hawaii standards-based rubric…

One broad goal for English for Academic Purposes students is to learn to write effectively so they can succeed in their chosen academic studies. The teaching of academic writing sensitive to context and texts has benefited from disciplinary based writing studies, allowing EAP teachers and their students to become better informed about the valued…

Presented at the College Board National Forum in Washington, D.C., October 2010. This presentation examines the recent national validity evidence that supports the use of SAT Writing in college admissions and English placement. Additionally it includes information on the College Board's free online Admitted Class Evaluation Service (ACES) system,…

This study examined the relative importance of a number of cognitive factors (i.e. working memory, vocabulary knowledge, general cognitive ability and reading skills) in accounting for differences in the rate of progress made by children in the development of emergent writing skills. Sixty-seven children were assessed on tasks measuring the…

This article summarizes a dissertation study designed to determine the effectiveness of instructional interventions that focus on proofreading and editing skills of first-year college students enrolled in business communication courses. The study used a pretest-posttest quasiexperimental control group design and collected data from 56 participants…