A study examined the writing performance of American schoolchildren based on a survey conducted in 1992 by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Nationally representative samples of fourth-, eighth-, and twelfth-grade students attending public and private schools--approximately 30,000 in all--responded to a variety of writing tasks. Nine different writing tasks were used at grade 4, 11 at grade 8, and 12 at grade 12. The tasks at each grade included a mix of grade-appropriate informative, persuasive, and narrative writing, with some tasks being given to students at more than one grade. Not all students at a grade were given all tasks. At each grade, approximately 1,500 students responded to each task. Taken as a whole, results indicated that given time and familiarity with the topic, the best students can write relatively effective informative and narrative pieces. Even the best students continue, however, to have difficulty with writing tasks that require them to muster arguments and evidence in persuasive writing. According to teachers and students, persuasive writing--advancing evidence and arguments to influence readers to change their thinking--received less emphasis in their classes than did informative or narrative writing. The performance of the best students remained far ahead of the performance of most of their classmates. Whatever successes schools may claim in writing instruction, many students at each grade level continue to have serious difficulty in producing effective informative, persuasive, or narrative writing. (Contains 50 tables and 8 figures of data as well as samples of students' essays. A procedural appendix is attached). (RS)