WWC review of this study

Impact of the National Writing Project’s College-Ready Writers Program on teachers and students.

Gallagher, H. A., Woodworth, K. R., & Arshan, N. L. (2015). Menlo Park, CA: SRI International.

  • Randomized Controlled Trial
     examining 
    2,486
     Students
    , grades
    7-10

Reviewed: December 2016

At least one finding shows moderate evidence of effectiveness
At least one statistically significant positive finding
Meets WWC standards with reservations
English language arts achievement outcomes—Statistically significant positive effect found for the domain
Outcome
measure
Comparison Period Sample Intervention
mean
Comparison
mean
Significant? Improvement
    index
Evidence
tier

Analytic Writing Continuum for Source-Based Argument Writing: Content

Communities in Schools vs. Business as usual

1 Year

Full sample;
2,486 students

N/A

N/A

Yes

 
 
8
 

Analytic Writing Continuum for Source-Based Argument Writing: Structure

Communities in Schools vs. Business as usual

1 Year

Full sample;
2,486 students

N/A

N/A

Yes

 
 
8
 

Analytic Writing Continuum for Source-Based Argument Writing: Stance

Communities in Schools vs. Business as usual

1 Year

Full sample;
2,486 students

N/A

N/A

Yes

 
 
6
 

Analytic Writing Continuum for Source-Based Argument Writing: Conventions

Communities in Schools vs. Business as usual

1 Year

Full sample;
2,486 students

N/A

N/A

Yes

 
 
5
 


Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.

Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.


  • 3% English language learners

  • 37% Minority

  • Rural
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    Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee

Setting

The study was conducted with teachers who worked in rural high-poverty school districts. School districts in the study were located in 10 U.S. states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Study sample

The school districts included in the study were rural high-poverty school districts. All students were in grades 7 through 10 in 2013-14 or 2014-15. Other sample characteristics were provided at the school district level but not specifically for the analytic sample. Approximately 66% of students in study districts were eligible for free- or reduced-price-lunch, about 37% were "students of color," and about 3% were English learners. The teacher population included all ELA teachers in grades 7-10 who taught a core ELA class for at least half a year during either study year. This excluded teachers who taught in schools serving exclusive populations, such as alternative schools, or vocational schools with no ELA department. CRWP called for Local Writing Project sites to serve all target grade 7–10 ELA teachers in CRWP districts and permitted sites to offer professional development to any teachers in CRWP districts outside the target population (e.g., social studies and elementary school teachers).

Intervention Group

The College-Ready Writers Program is a professional development program aimed at improving student writing achievement through increases in teacher competence. Teachers of English language arts in grades 7 through 10 were asked to participate in 45 hours of professional development per year over two years. The professional development was designed by 12 university-based National Writing Project affiliates and emphasized instructional methods for argument writing. Included in the professional development were instructional coaching and lesson design sessions. Approximately 76% of English language arts teachers in the intervention school districts attended 45 hours of College-Ready Writers Program each year. Based on feedback gathered during the first year of the intervention, classroom resources, such as curricular "mini-units" and formative assessment tools, were developed and distributed to teachers during the second year.

Comparison Group

The comparison group received "business as usual" professional development program with a delayed (post-intervention) treatment option.

Support for implementation

The intervention was funded under an i3 Validation grant and provides professional development, curricular resources, and assessment tools related to writing to participating teachers. College-Ready Writers Program leadership supported implementation with frequent phone calls and site visits. External evaluations also provided ongoing feedback on early successes and challenges. Observations made during the first year of the study led to modifications in focus and in the tools provided to teachers during the second year.

In the case of multiple manuscripts that report on one study, the WWC selects one manuscript as the primary citation and lists other manuscripts that describe the study as additional sources.

  • Gallagher, H. A., Arshan, N., & Woodworth, K. (2016). Working paper: Impact of the National Writing Project's College-Ready Writers Program in high-need rural districts. Menlo Park, CA: SRI International. Retrieved from https://www.sri.com/

Reviewed: November 2016

Meets WWC standards with reservations


Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.

Study sample characteristics were not reported.
 

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