Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively

Exit slips 

and 

error analysis

, are forma-

tive assessment tools that allow teachers  

to regularly monitor student progress.

Summary of evidence: 

Minimal Evidence

Four studies contributed to the level of evi-

dence for this recommendation. One study 

meets WWC group design standards without 

reservations,

73

 and three studies meet WWC 

group design standards with reservations 

(see Appendix D).

74

 All four studies examined 

professional-development interventions that 

provided tools for teachers to use formative 

assessments in the classroom, and all studies 

found positive effects on at least one writing 

outcome. The studies examined interventions  

including components from all of the steps in 

Recommendation 3, but none of the studies 

provided a direct test of the recommendation  

because the interventions also included 

important components that were not part  

of this recommendation. Three studies exam-

ined the same intervention, the Pathway 

Project, which also included components  

of Recommendations 1 and 2.

75

 These three 

studies found positive effects on outcomes  

in the overall writing quality domain. They 

were conducted in school districts in Southern  

California and included primarily mainstreamed 

English learners. The fourth study examined 

another professional-development interven-

tion that included tools for teachers to use 

formative assessments, as well as other  

curricular materials for writing instruction  

and support for collaboration among teachers.

76

 

This study found positive effects on outcomes 

in the audience, organization, and use of 

evidence domains. It was conducted in  

44 school districts across the United States.

This recommendation received a minimal level 

of evidence because three of the four studies  

examined a single intervention, and none of 

the studies provided a direct test of the recom-

mendation. The evidence had strong internal 

validity—aside from the multi-component 

interventions—but three of the studies 

may have limited generalizability because 

they were conducted in a single region and 

included primarily English learners.

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