Expanding assessment to instructionally relevant writing components in middle school.

Although educators frequently use assessment to identify who needs supplemental instruction and if that instruction is working, there is a lack of research investigating assessment that informs what instruction students need. The purpose of the current study was to determine if a brief (approximately 20 min) task that reflects a common middle school expectation (writing in response to text) provides educators with information about students' strengths and weaknesses in four research-based components of writing. Results indicated that, at the end of elementary school (Grade 5), students' word- and sentence-level errors, text-level plan, and typing fluency predicted 43% of their performance in written composition quality and all these factors play a role in writing achievement. At the end of middle school (Grade 8), text-level plan and word-level accuracy remained important components. Implications for using assessment to guide selection of evidence-based writing instruction throughout middle school are discussed.

Performance feedback during writing instruction: A cost-effectiveness analysis.

Students in K-12 settings experience poor writing outcomes, with less than 30% of students writing at the proficient level. Coupled with the pressure to improve academic outcomes with limited resources, schools are in dire need of efficient, universally provided instructional activities that promote writing skills. Performance feedback on writing fluency was designed to be a brief, low-resource universally provided instructional activity to facilitate writing development and has demonstrated moderate to large effects on formative writing measures. The current study was conducted to directly evaluate the extent to which performance feedback on writing fluency is cost-effective. This study uses the ingredients method to estimate the costs of providing performance feedback on writing fluency and calculates incremental cost-effectiveness ratios based on secondary data from a randomized controlled trial. Results suggest that performance feedback is more cost-effective than comprehensive systems reform initiatives and comparable to other universally provided interventions, and therefore should be considered a cost-effective approach to improve writing fluency for all students. Results provide school psychologists with concrete examples of how to support prevention and intervention activities aimed to improve student writing outcomes. Limitations and suggestions for future research are also discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Evaluating the impact of feedback on elementary aged students' fluency growth in written expression: a randomized controlled trial.

The purpose of this randomized controlled trial was to evaluate elementary-aged students' writing fluency growth in response to (a) instructional practices, (b) sex differences, and (c) student's initial level of writing fluency. Third-grade students (n=133) in three urban elementary schools were randomly assigned to either an individualized performance feedback condition (n=46), a practice-only condition (i.e., weekly writing practice; n=39), or an instructional control condition (n=48) for 8weeks. Findings included support for use of performance feedback as an instructional component in general education classrooms (Hedges' g=0.66), whereas simple practice with curriculum-based measurement in written expression did not produce growth significantly greater than standard instructional practices. The hypothesis that girls write significantly more than boys was supported. However, girls and boys did not differ in their rate of growth. Finally, students' initial risk status in writing fluency did not differentially predict growth in writing fluency over the course of the study. Implications for incorporating feedback as a basic component of intervention in writing are discussed.