In 2001 Congress appropriated funds for a trial district-level assessment and the National Assessment Governing Board passed a resolution approving the selection of five large urban school districts for participation in the Trial Urban District Assessment, a special project within the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). This report presents, for the first time, district-level results for NAEP writing assessments in these school districts: Atlanta City, Georgia; Chicago, Illinois; Houston Independent School District, Texas; Los Angeles Unified School District, California; and New York City Public Schools. Results are also included for the District of Columbia. The writing assessments were administered in grades 4 and 8 to representative samples of students. Results for New York City for grade 8 are not reported because they did not meet statistical standards for representation. Average scores for fourth graders in public schools ranged from 135 in the District of Columbia to 153 in New York City and the nation. Average scores for eighth graders ranged from 128 in the District of Columbia and Los Angeles to 138 in Houston. In each of these districts, the average score was lower than the average score for eighth graders in the nation. At grade 4, the percentages of students performing at or above "Proficient" ranged from 11% in the District of Columbia to 27% in New York City. The percentage of students performing at or above "Proficient" was higher for the nation than for any of the five urban districts reported, and higher for central cities than for all the urban districts except Houston, for which no significant difference was detected. Results are also given for student subgroups by gender, race/ethnicity, eligibility for free/reduced price lunch, and parents' highest level of education. Three appendixes provide information about study procedures and methods of analysis. (SLD)