At a time when many teenagers are consumed by such activities as text-messaging, blogging, and social networking, more middle and high school students than in the past have mastered the formal "basic" writing skills needed to express ideas or share information, national assessment results released last week show. But just small proportions--33 percent of 8th graders and 24 percent of 12th graders--show proficiency in the subject, meaning they usually use proper spelling and grammar and the more sophisticated skills they need to write a school essay or explain complex information. The National Assessment of Educational Progress in writing shows significant progress at both grade levels, and for most student subgroups, since the test was last given in 2002, and in the nine years since it was first administered. In both grades, more students displayed at least basic skills, and more were deemed "proficient" at writing than in 2002.