North Carolina ninth graders in an agriculture and natural resources course were divided into 102 controls and 97 experimentals. The experimental group exhibited higher achievement, retention, and writing confidence in a groundwater protection unit using the writing to learn method. (SK)

Notes a growing movement in elementary schools to expand the amount of time devoted to writing. Contends that the visual arts is a neglected aspect of the curriculum. Explores the influence of drawing on third-grade students' writing performance. Finds that students who drew before writing tended, overall, to write better than students who did not…

Describes the ramifications of developing a Year 10 Literacy Certificate of Achievement whereby teachers from all curriculum areas were led to pay closer attention to both the amount and types of literacy-based work that they assigned. Appends a list of eight criteria and explanations of what it means to be "progressing" or…

Examines relationships between writing instruction and functional composition performance of third-year secondary education Dutch students. Finds that, of 36 instructional characteristics, effective ones included instruction and exercises in writing functional texts, writing for a specific purpose, tailoring to a particular audience, global rating…

Examines the mechanics of a large-scale writing portfolio assessment at the University of Michigan, including its impact on matriculation and placement; students' reactions to the requirement; and instructors' evaluation of the efficacy of placements under the new system. Examines the scoring process used by readers to assess portfolios, and…

Analyzes think-aloud protocols with native speakers of English learning French or German. Shows that as the writer's experience with the language increases, fluency increases, the average length of strings of words proposed between pauses or revision episodes increases, the number of revision episodes decreases, and more of the words proposed as…

Studies the socialization processes of two writers new to an organization in terms of writing tasks, writers' social roles, and methods of socialization. Reveals 15 different writing roles depicting a continuum from novice to expert. Argues the implications of this study are relevant to current school-based approaches to writing instruction. (NH)

Improving students' writing achievement begins by creating a community of writers among teachers. These practices help staff learn more deeply.

This study investigated the level of generalizability across a few high quality assessment tasks and the validity of measuring student writing ability using a limited number of essay tasks. More specifically, the research team explored how well writing prompts could measure student general writing ability and if student performance from one…

The teaching of highly valued scientific writing skills in the first year of university is challenging. This report describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of a novel written assignment, "The Personal Response" and accompanying Peer Review, in the course, Human Biology (BIOL1015) at The University of Queensland. These assignments were…

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of formulaic writing such as the five-paragraph theme (FPT) or essay for the purpose of earning high scores on high-stakes writing assessments. This qualitative descriptive study analyzed more than 1000 essays from Delaware Grade 8 and 10 writers, written for a statewide…

This survey research on National Writing Project (NWP) teachers and comparison teachers (N=35) in a southeastern state found that the NWP teachers wrote more than the comparison teachers did and that the participating teachers' writing was associated with students' achievement in writing. The pattern of the impact of writing life on achievement…

With decreasing enrollment, decreasing funding for public school education, changes in family and societal needs, and the mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act, policymakers and school leaders are wrestling with reforms to the school calendar and instructional time spent in the classroom, with the goal of increasing student achievement.…

This publication contains Arizona public schools' academic standards for grade 4. The contents of this document include the following: (1) The Arts Standard 2006--Grade 4; (2) Comprehensive Health Education/Physical Activity Standards 1997--Essentials (Grades 4-8); (3) Foreign and Native Language Standards 1997--Essentials (Grades 4-8); (4)…

A national literacy professional development project reduced the achievement gap for students experiencing difficulties in reading or writing in 91 of New Zealand's schools. It was based on two premises: coherence within and between the multiple levels of the schooling and educational administration systems, and a focus on evidence-informed…