Two-Year Impact Study of the Writing Reform and Innovation for Teaching Excellence English Learner Writing Approach: Results and Lessons Learned

• In Event: 56.036 - How Can Educators Help Improve All (English) Learners' Academic Success? Findings From Three Randomized Studies

Abstract

This IES-funded Goal 3 evaluation study assesses the impact of the WRITE Institute English learner (EL) writing program over a two-year period on teacher practice and the achievement progress of middle school EL students at the intermediate level of English language proficiency (ELP). EL students are a growing segment of the U.S. K-12 population (Quality Counts, 2009) and a group of students who continue to struggle to achieve English fluency (reclassification) and to meet core content standards within expected time frames (e.g., Haas et al., 2015). EL students at the middle and high school levels generally are less successful in meeting these academic expectations than elementary school students, including EL students at the intermediate levels of ELP who often stall in their progress for multiple years (e.g., Zhao & Mina, 2015).

The WRITE Institute writing program is specifically designed to improve the academic outcomes of secondary EL students at the intermediate ELP level through training and supporting teachers to incorporate more research-based, writing-workshop-type practices in their classrooms (e.g., Olson & Land, 2007). Key activities include teacher modeling of writing, peer editing, and active writing portfolios. The WRITE Institute uses a train-the-trainers professional development approach that includes the group grading of anchor writing assignments with an EL-specific analytic writing rubric linked to asset-based follow-up writing assistance for student miscues.

A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted with a final sample of 27 California middle schools over a two-year intervention to answer two research questions:

(1) Does a new implementation of the WRITE approach improve the writing performance of EL students over current practice?
(2) How does the WRITE training change the frequency of best writing practices used by English language development (ELD) teachers as compared to ELD teachers in current practice?

For RQ 1, two-level hierarchal linear modeling (students clustered within schools) and ANCOVA were used to calculate and compare student achievement between the treatment and control groups (Anderson, 2012; Kirk, 2013). Qualitative analyses and ANOVA were used to describe changes in teacher practice and compare the changes between the treatment and control groups (Patton, 2001).

Student achievement was assessed using California’s ELP assessment (CELDT) and its previous content assessment in English language arts (CST). Teacher practice was assessed using surveys, classroom observations, and teacher interviews.

Treatment teachers had significantly greater frequencies of best practices at the end of year 2 as compared to control teachers and compared to treatment teachers at the end of year 1. Treatment students had small significantly greater gains in some writing and general literacy measures and no difference in gains in others as compared to the control group at the end of year 2.

The study provides evidence of the impact of an EL writing program based on many research-based best training and classroom practices. It also provides lessons on logistical challenges for conducting a multi-year RCT in schools with high EL and socio-economically disadvantaged (SED) populations.

Authors

• Eric Haas, California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

• Huy Quoc Chung, University of California - Irvine

• Jamal Abedi, University of California - Davis