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This article describes the outcome and significance of studies in the area of writing conducted from 1999 to 2003 by the Center on Accelerating Student Learning (a multisite research center involving Vanderbilt University, Columbia University, and the University of Maryland). The basic purpose of the Center was to identify effective instructional practices for primary-grade students with special needs and children at risk for academic difficulties. As part of this effort, researchers at the University of Maryland surveyed primary-grade teachers nationwide to determine how they teach writing (providing a description of the context in which struggling writers learn to compose), examined the impact of extra handwriting and spelling instruction as a means for preventing writing difficulties, and assessed the effects of explicitly teaching young struggling writers strategies for planning and writing text.
The number of children with a writing disability is not known. However, data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress reveal that many students in the United States do not write well. In both 1998 and 2002, the majority of 4th-, 8th-, and 12th-grade students who completed this assessment demonstrated only partial mastery of the writing skills and knowledge needed at their respective grade levels (Greenwald, Persky, Cambell, & Mazzeo, 1999; Persky, Daane, & Jin, 2003). Writing problems are also common among children with special needs, as students with behavioral disorders, attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorders (ADHD), learning disabilities, and speech and language difficulties experience considerable difficulty learning to write (e.g., Gilliam & Johnston, 1992; Nelson, Benner, Lane, & Smith, 2004; Newcomer & Barenbaum, 1991; Resta & Eliot, 1994).
Unfortunately, current educational reform, as reflected in the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), places little emphasis on writing. In our opinion, this was an unfortunate oversight, as writing is critical to school success. It is the primary means by which students demonstrate their knowledge in school (Graham & Harris, 2004), but even more important, it provides a flexible tool for gathering, remembering, and sharing subject-matter knowledge as well as an instrument for helping children explore, organize, and refine their ideas about a specific subject.
Although writing is neglected by NCLB, other voices, such as the College Board, an organization of more than 4,300 colleges, warned that students and society will be short-changed if writing is...