The nation’s eighth- and 12th-grade students are getting better at writing, though they struggle to reach top performance levels, according to a key national report released yesterday.
“While we still have a ways to go, America’s students are getting better at this important task,” said Mark Schneider, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, which tests a sampling of students in various subjects by what is known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
According to NAEP writing results made public yesterday, the number of eighth-graders performing at or above the basic level of writing increased from 85 percent in 2002 to 88 percent in 2007. Among 12th-graders, 82 percent performed at or above the basic level in 2007, up from 74 percent in 2002.
A basic skill level means the children can convey their main points in a reasonably clear way, but make grammar and spelling mistakes and use simple sentences.
Students at each grade level received a writing test appropriate for their age that was rated on a scale from zero to 300 points. The average national score rose for eighth-graders from 153 to 156 and for 12th-graders from 148 to 153.
Education Secretary Margaret Spellings praised the overall writing results and said “indicators are moving in the right direction,” thanks in part to the accountability required by the No Child Left Behind law.
Still, the percentage of students in both grades who reached the top performance levels — proficient or advanced — hasn’t changed much in recent years. About 33 percent of eighth- graders reached proficiency in 2007 and 2 percent reached advanced, compared with 31 percent and 2 percent in 2002, respectively.
Twenty-four percent of 12th-graders reached proficiency in 2007, the same as 2002, and 1 percent reached the advanced level in 2007, a dip from 2 percent in 2002.
Amanda Avallone, an eighth-grade English teacher and assistant principal from Boulder, Colo., said people worry that constant texting and cell-phone use among youths have devalued writing, but the test results showed “the quality of student writing is improving.”
Still, she and others worry about persistent achievement gaps in writing between girls and boys, and among races.
About 28,000 high school seniors nationwide — in both public and private schools — took the test last year, along with about 140,000 eighth-graders.
The sample of eighth-graders was larger because it also tracked performance in 46 states and 10 urban school districts. Of the 39 states that participated in 2002 and 2007, 19 posted gains, 18 showed no significant change and North Carolina was the only state to decline. Meanwhile, among major cities, Atlanta, Chicago and Los Angeles all showed significant writing improvement in the past five years, the report said.
Racial gaps persist. White and black students in both grades improved their writing scores since 2002, as have eighth-grade Hispanic students. The achievement gap between white and black eighth-grade students narrowed by a few points to 23 points, but other racial gaps remained unchanged.
Girls continue to outperform boys in writing, by a gap of about 20 points in each grade. The gap narrowed in 12th grade, where the average score for girls was 18 points higher than for boys.
Mrs. Avallone said this is still unacceptable because boys can indeed write.
“I do suspect that the gender gap is in part the result of lower expectations for boys in the area of literacy, writing in particular,” she said.
GETTING BETTER
American students are improving at writing, with higher scores for both eighth-graders and high school seniors, according to results of the 2007 writing assessment from the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The following shows how the 2007 results compared with those of previous years.
Achievement levels in writing (eighth grade)
1998:
Reached basic level or above 84 percent
Reached proficient level or above 27 percent
Reached advanced level 1 percent
2002:
Reached basic level or above 85 percent
Reached proficient level or above 31 percent
Reached advanced level 2 percent
2007:
Reached basic level or above 88 percent
Reached proficient level or above 33 percent
Reached advanced level 2 percent
Achievement levels in writing (12th grade)
1998:
Reached basic level or above 78 percent
Reached proficient level or above 22 percent
Reached advanced level 1 percent
2002:
Reached basic level or above 74 percent
Reached proficient level or above 24 percent
Reached advanced level 2 percent
2007:
Reached basic level or above 82 percent
Reached proficient level or above 24 percent
Reached advanced level 1 percent
Source: Writing 2007, National Assessment of Educational Progress, National Center for Education Statistics
The Washington Times
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