K-12 Topics: Interesting Research (4)

10-second review: Variety of topics and findings in recent research.

Title: “Annotated of Bibliography of Research in the Teaching of English.” ed. R Beach, et al. Research in the Teaching of English (RTE) (November 2008), 188-235. A publication of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).

1. Knowledge of Writing. Do students who have knowledge of writing write better? “Finds that fourth-grade skilled writers were more knowledgeable than their less skilled peers.”
[Comment: Seems like a no-brainer. Still it shows that teaching writing pays off. Nice to know that. RayS.]
B Saddler and S Graham. (2007). “The Relationship Between Writing Knowledge and Writing Performance Among More and Less Skilled Writers.” Reading and Writing Quarterly, 23 (3), 231-247. RTE (November 2008), 230.

2. Writing Scores. How are 2007’s students in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) writing assessment doing when compared to other years’ tests? “Finds that the average writing scores of eighth- and twelfth-graders were higher in 2007 than in previous assessments in 2002 and 1998.”
[Comment: Doesn’t say by how much. These summarizing snippets of research don’t give the reader much detail. Still the information is encouraging. You can read the entire report online as listed below. RayS.].
D Salahu-Din, H Persky and I Miller. (2008). The Nation’s Report Card: Writing 2007. Washington DC: National Assessment of Educational Progress. Retrieved June 22, 2008, from http://nationsreportcard.gov/writing_2007. RTE (November 2008), 231.