I recently attended a presentation by Dr. Doug Reeves of the Center for Performance Assessment , known for the 90/90/90 research. One of Dr. Reeves’ points that really resonated with me was the identification of expository writing as a best practice that significantly improves student achievement in all subject areas and on standardized tests.
Over the past year, I’ve been working on a project focused on improving student writing in four middle schools. I have a deep personal love for writing, so this project is of great interest. It’s very exciting to see kids who have not had much academic success in the past find something they can do well and maybe even enjoy. I believe that for many of these kids, technology makes the difference. It frees them to be creative, expressive, and successful.
It’s good to see some research on this that ties back to test scores, because in today’s environment, that’s everything. Unfortunate, but true.