Despite the efforts of a number of national organizations focused on improving writing literacy, there has been little improvement in student writing skills over the past decade to keep pace with the growing demands of the workplace. Based on constructivist learning theory and the belief that students become better writers through continuous…

The current study examines data from students in grades 4-8 who participated in a statewide computer-based benchmark writing assessment that featured automated essay scoring and automated feedback. We examined whether the use of automated feedback was associated with gains in writing quality across revisions to an essay, and with transfer effects…

This study was an expanded replication of an earlier endeavor (Shermis, Burstein, & Bliss, 2004) to document the writing outcomes associated with automated essay scoring. The focus of the current study was on determining whether exposure to multiple writing prompts facilitated writing production variables (Essay Score, Essay Length, and Number…

This study investigates how middle school students and teachers in preservice and master of arts classes analyze writing samples. Three sets of participants analyzed and scored a common set of writings. Findings indicate that several intact classroom groups of eighth-graders, preservice teachers, and veteran teachers in a graduate reading program…

Only one out of five high school teachers believes that students are learning to write well according to research from Public Agenda. Test results confirm their opinion. In 1998, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) administered a writing assessment to gauge fourth- and eighth-grade students' proficiency in writing narrative,…