The Nation's Report Card: Writing 2007April 2008 Authors: Deborah Salahu-Din, Hillary Persky, and Jessica Miller Download sections of the report (or the complete report) in a PDF file for viewing and printing. 
Executive SummaryScores increase in 2007 for both eighth- and twelfth-graders nationally The writing skills of eighth- and twelfth-graders improved in 2007 compared to earlier assessment years, with gains across many student groups. Nationally representative samples of more than 165,000 eighth- and twelfth-graders participated in the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) writing assessment (the assessment was not administered at grade 4 in 2007). Each student responded to 2 out of 20 possible writing tasks intended to measure one of three purposes for writing: narrative, informative, or persuasive. Results are presented nationally for both eighth- and twelfth-graders, and in participating states and urban districts only for eighth-graders. Comparing the results of the 2007 writing assessment to results from previous years shows the progress eighth- and twelfth-graders are making in improving writing skills. Scores increase in 2007 for both eighth- and twelfth-graders nationallyAverage writing scores were higher in 2007 than in previous assessments in 2002 and 1998. Increases were also seen since 2002 in percentages of students performing at or above the Basic achievement level but not at or above Proficient. At grade 8 in 2007
At grade 12 in 2007
Most racial/ethnic groups gainAs shown in the chart below, average writing scores increased since 2002 for White, Black, and Asian/Pacific Islander students at both grades. The average score for Hispanic eighth-graders was higher in 2007 than in both previous assessments, while there was no significant change for Hispanic students at grade 12. Some racial/ethnic and gender gaps are closingGains for minority students and male students have contributed to the narrowing of some gaps. At grade 8, the 6-point increase in the average score for Black students from 2002 to 2007 contributed to a smaller gap between White and Black students than in both previous assessments. At grade 12, an 8-point increase for male students since 2002 contributed to a narrowing of the male – female gap in comparison to 2002, but there was no significant change in comparison to the gap in 1998.
Some states gain at grade 8
Urban districts gainAs shown in the chart below, eighth-graders in three of the four districts that participated in both the 2002 and 2007 NAEP writing Trial Urban District Assessments (TUDA) improved. When compared to their home states, Atlanta and Los Angeles made greater gains since 2002.
While scores in 9 of the 10 participating urban districts were lower than the average score for eighth-graders in the nation, when comparing results for only lower-income students, scores in six districts were not significantly different from the nation. Lower-income students in Boston and New York City scored higher on average than their peers in large central cities (i.e., cities with populations of 250,000 or more). Among the 10 districts that participated in 2007, the average writing score for eighth-graders in Charlotte was higher than the score for public school students in large central cities. Also in comparison to large central cities, scores for students in Cleveland and Los Angeles were lower, and scores in the remaining seven districts were not significantly different. Download sections of the report (or the complete report) in a PDF file for viewing and printing:
NCES 2008-468 Ordering information For more information, see the results of the 2007 Writing assessment on the Nation's Report Card website.
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