74% of grade 8 and 73% of grade 12 high school students wrote below a proficient level in the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) 2011 Nation’s Report Card writing assessment. To meet a Proficient level, eighth graders must write coherently and well-structured with logical ideas. The fact that most students could not do so means we need to take a hard look at how we teach writing.
Fortunately, there is a way forward. As technology improves, we gain new ways to teach writing.
By updating our teaching methods and tools to keep up with students’ evolving interests, we can appeal to them while helping them develop the necessary skills. There are new ways to address writing instruction, from social media to AI to new platforms like Pressto.
First, we need to understand what’s happening with writing education today. Then, we’ll take a closer look at the challenges it has faced and why those have caused a decline in writing standards, as observed in the preliminary analysis of an unreleased, 2017 NCES report. Finally, we’ll outline how to move forward with a new approach to writing instruction.
One of the biggest challenges facing modern education is that most American students struggle to meet grade-level writing standards.
But we don’t have a complete picture of national writing instruction. That’s because the National Center for Education Statistics is supposed to provide that regularly. They haven’t released the results of a national writing assessment since 2011 when they found, as mentioned above, that 73% of high school seniors and 74% of 8th graders were writing below a proficient level.
All the information we do have indicates that our writing instruction is failing students. Let’s look at how this came about and what that can tell us about addressing it.
Many factors are behind the students’ substandard writing skills, and each greatly impacts how students learn in the classroom.
From the endless scrolls on Instagram to constant notifications and tweets from TikTok and Twitter, including constant messaging, all these distractions from social media can make it tough to concentrate on longer writing tasks.
For instance, it's difficult for students to concentrate on writing an assignment when scrolling social media feeds and seeing new posts every few seconds. That’s why 74% of parents say that social media distracts students.
To reduce this negative impact, students should take regular breaks and set limits on screen time. Schools should eliminate phones and social media from classrooms.
Schools are giving out higher grades, but we don’t have evidence that their performance has kept up with those higher grades. This rise in grades without an equal increase in skills is called grade inflation, which negatively impacts students across the board. This has contributed to issues in writing education. For example, the average GPA has risen from 3.22 in 2010 to 3.39 in 2021. At the same time, average ACT (American College Testing) scores have dropped by a full point.
UNICEF states that insufficient infrastructure, inadequate educational resources, and a lack of trained teachers contribute to reduced standards.
Maintaining high standards in education must be a high priority. Teachers should undergo extensive training and preparation before employment. The curriculum should be updated frequently, and teachers who fail to fulfill the established requirements should communicate this to offer training support.
Some teachers may face challenges in effectively teaching writing skills. This results from limited training in writing instruction, standardized testing that prioritizes subjects like math and science, diverse needs and abilities of students, and limited instructional time. Schools must support teachers by providing adequate time and resources for writing instructions and professional training opportunities to improve the teachers’ skills.
You know how your phone can sometimes guess what you'll say before you finish typing? That’s an aspect of technology called predictive text. This and other tech-related advancements can mean that students fail to learn essential writing skills. For example, people presented with predictive text tend to make their writing shorter and more predictable, with less variety than they’d use otherwise.
Autocorrect is another technology that can impact students' writing by making it more efficient and error-free. However, one study found that while students using autocorrect made fewer punctuation and spelling errors in the final version, students were heavily dependent on auto-correct. Hence, they initially made more mistakes when using technology compared to handwriting.
There are plenty of advantages to technologies like autocorrect — it’s saved us from silly mistakes! But it’s important to pay attention to how these appear to be impacting students in negative ways as well. Teachers must continue educating students with skills like spelling so they don’t become reliant on autocorrect.
When more students are packed into the room, it can be tough for teachers to give each student the attention they need to improve their writing skills. Teachers might find giving detailed feedback on writing assignments tricky because there's so much to get through.
It may also be difficult for students to collaborate on writing projects or give feedback to each other. Besides, let's not forget about the noise and distractions of a big class.
One study shows a significant effect of class size on student achievement in essay writing. Students in smaller class sizes had the highest mean score compared to those in larger class sizes.
On the one hand, the Internet has opened up a whole world of information at our fingertips. This easy access to information has made researching and gathering sources for writing assignments much easier.
On the other hand, the Internet poses a major challenge to students’ writing skills, especially in the temptation to plagiarize.
When students have so much information online, it can be tempting to copy and paste someone else's work instead of doing their own thinking, writing, and researching using credible sources.
The internet can also affect the style that people write with.
In fact, a study by the Tshwane School for Business and Society from a sample size of 147 educators in the region showed that 85.71% of the educators agree that social media has a notable effect on writing skills in English with proper grammar and syllables.
Our cultural attitudes toward writing have evolved. In the past, writing was a necessary skill for success – something you had to master to get ahead in life. But with so much focus on technology and STEM subjects today, writing sometimes gets pushed to the back burner. But that doesn’t mean we can’t appeal to students and the general public’s increased interest in the sciences.
Instead, teachers can show the value of writing instruction. For example, writing is still essential to publishing scientific articles, creating technical documentation, and demonstrating one’s understanding of technical subjects.
Teachers need to adapt to these changes, meet students where their interests lie, and help them develop the writing skills they need to succeed. For example, that might mean incorporating more digital writing tools into their lessons.
Schools are constantly changing. Sometimes, these changes can have unintended consequences for writing instruction. One significant change is a shift toward emphasizing STEM subjects — (science, technology, engineering, and math.)
Standardized testing that prioritizes subjects like math and reading comprehension overwriting has also become a major focus in school systems, leaving less time for dedicated writing instruction. Schools need to strike a balance in their curriculum to ensure that writing instruction has the attention it deserves alongside other subjects.
When teachers feel pressured to focus solely on test preparation, they might spend more time drilling students on grammar rules and essay structures than helping them develop their unique voice and style. Writing is more than just filling in the blanks on a test; it's a way for students to share their thoughts, ideas, and experiences on a topic.
It’s impossible to standardize writing fully. Instead of just focusing on test scores, teachers can assess writing through projects, portfolios, peer evaluations, and other creative methods. But with the recent emphasis on standardized testing, starting with policies like No Child Left Behind, writing has fallen by the wayside. Instead, policymakers and education administrators have focused on subjects they can make standardized tests for more easily, like math and reading.
To sum up, we’ve seen that various factors are at play in the decline of student writing skills.
Awareness of these factors allows us to find effective solutions to improve writing instruction and support students in developing their skills.
When students struggle with writing, it can affect their academic success and prospects. The decline in students’ writing skills could lead to:
For success in the global market, students need strong writing skills and a love for lifelong learning, starting in the classroom. It's up to instructors to devise effective strategies for students' future achievement.
Technology is like a double-edged sword — it can be beneficial to writing and, at the same time, pose a lot of challenges. Many tech tools, including spell-check tools like Grammarly and other AI resources like ChatGPT and Pressto’s writing buddy, help simplify the writing process. However, the availability of so much information could also lead to students becoming lazy and resorting to total dependence on technology rather than improving their writing skills. We should be aware of each of them so that we can utilize technology better.
Technology provides numerous benefits for writing instruction, such as:
Imagine you're working on a big project, like a report or an essay. Instead of writing it all out by hand, you can use a computer program, like Microsoft Word or Google Docs. If you make a mistake, you can check your spelling and grammar with tools like Grammarly.
Using these programs makes writing quicker and more efficient. You can organize your thoughts, add pictures or tables, and format your document. It's like having a personal assistant to help you finish your work faster!
Utilizing educational apps like Pressto’s AI-driven tools and other online resources can significantly enhance academic performance — the extra support and an opportunity to practice what students have been taught.
The availability of research materials online has helped students to broaden the scope of their knowledge.
Students are enabled to carry out deep research on diverse topics. Students can express themselves and their stories more excitingly and creatively with other multimedia tools for audio, video, and graphics like Canva and Loom.
Writing aids that can improve writing skills are now more easily accessible like:
Just as every class has student groups for sharing ideas and collaborating on projects, online writing programs/platforms also have communities where students can collaborate and share ideas. Examples of these tools are Google Classroom and Slack.
Just as technology can help improve writing skills, here are some examples of how it can be misused:
Technology in the classroom, if not properly managed, can be a source of distraction for students. Multitasking between writing tasks and other digital activities, such as social media or gaming, can detract from the quality and focus of students' writing.
With increased emphasis on typing skills and digital writing platforms, there is a risk of neglecting handwriting instruction. Over time, this could lead to a decline in students' handwriting proficiency, which remains an essential skill in many contexts, including note-taking and exams.
Some believe that students will ignore the need to do in-depth research and prefer to use the easiest path forward — for example, they might just ask ChatGPT for an answer. That underlines the importance of teaching students basic research and writing skills while also helping them take advantage of the helpful side of technology.
Research shows that society has a high level of dependence on technology to succeed. With increased technological writing aids and software, some students may rely too much on technology for every challenge they meet throughout the writing process.
A lot of the writing students do in their free time is online, especially on social media. On social media platforms, students have developed specific jargon and conventions that are appropriate for those mediums but not academic work. For some students, transitioning between the two may be challenging.
One study found that about 70% of Generation Y people have difficulty preserving formality in their writing because they use internet slang, or “netspeak.” People spend a lot of time on social media, reading content written in that style. It appears that’s affecting how they write, whether they like it or not.
The availability of a huge amount of information online is a blessing, but it also comes with risks. It’s never been easier for students to copy others’ work, and catching plagiarism requires instructors to be diligent.
This issue isn’t new—a Roman poet accused another of plagiarism almost 2,000 years ago. But it’s become even more prominent as plagiarism scandals have rocked education systems in the US and abroad.
This will continue to develop with technology. Where discussions of plagiarism used to focus on copying out of a library book, another professional’s work, or a Wikipedia article, they’re now about students passing off AI-generated writing as their own. With information only getting more accessible, it’s more important than ever to teach students to cite sources properly and not rely too much on any source.
That’s why Pressto built our Writing Buddy. It’s an AI tool that gives students the resources they need to succeed without just handing them the answers. That way, struggling students don’t just look for the answers — they are coached to improve their work on their own.
We know that we aren’t teaching students to write well enough and that we have tools for helping them that we never had before. Here’s how we can employ those tools and use longstanding educational best practices to strategies for improving student writing skills:
Peer review is a process where students give and receive feedback from their peers on each other’s writing with the teacher’s guidance. It’s a fantastic way for students to get constructive feedback from their peers, which can be valuable for improving their writing skills.
It’s a win-win scenario—as students help their peers polish their writing, they also learn to become better writers. They can see the consequences of several writing mistakes, how to avoid them, and writing best practices.
Students may also prefer to spend more time editing their work as they won’t want to be ridiculed by their peers. This strategy will improve the writing ability of students. However, it shouldn’t be the final assessment as students don’t have proven expertise to determine accuracy.
At every stage of the writing process, teachers should assist students. This would help to improve their writing skills. From the brainstorming stage to the completion of the draft and beyond, teachers should become responsible for the development of the students. Adapt your teaching to match each student's needs and level of understanding.
Corrective feedback helps students improve their writing skills. Instructors should set up thorough feedback sessions between them and the students. This would help them to build a more personalized connection with each student.
Teachers can understand each student’s needs through feedback sessions. It can also help students know what’s wrong with their writing, why it’s wrong, and how to improve it.
Although it may increase instructors' workload, it’s still very much necessary and should be applied by all instructors as long as they want their students to improve.
Educators must watch the progress of students under their care and step in with extra help when necessary. The goal should be to guide students through the process of mastering writing. Instructors should also be proactive in finding solutions to students' specific challenges.
That might mean offering one-on-one sessions, providing additional resources, or simply being a supportive ear. This would allow students to express themselves with confidence and clarity easily.
Teachers should adopt technological tools to improve students’ writing skills. For example, Pressto aims to motivate students to write more and support their progress.
In the words of Pressto’s founder, Daniel Stedman, “Pressto is an anti-stupidity tool that happens to teach writing skills.”
The age of technology has provided so many other benefits, especially in writing instructions, which helps to prepare students for the digital world. If educators don’t take advantage of this, they hinder students' growth.
As stated earlier, educators must also be conscious of the challenges that technology presents to their students and devise strategies to counteract or minimize its impact.
More intensive writing courses should be implemented in schools to create a more robust writing culture in students in the classroom and beyond. Another way to achieve this is to write alongside your students and give them ample time to write on their terms.
You can also help students grasp how they improve in each writing process, which helps boost their confidence. For example, teach them a particular aspect of writing and a strategy they can apply to get better results, like teaching students a common way to structure an introduction, and how to evaluate whether their introduction has all the necessary components.
Then, allow them to write in their unique voice while applying the strategy. Once they're done, give them room to read each of their writing to the class or review amongst themselves. That helps them feel more comfortable writing and see where to improve.
Cultivate a writing culture to help students understand what they are most passionate about in writing and how best they can express themselves.
Applying all these strategies in the classroom would help improve students’ abilities and prepare them adequately for the outside world.
Lifelong learning is where people acquire new skills and knowledge for personal and professional reasons, even outside formal education. When students are self-motivated toward growth and development beyond writing and the four walls of the classroom, they become better individuals who make society a better place.
Instructors can instill the love of learning in students beyond the classroom through the following ways:
Promoting a growth mindset involves actively encouraging students to embrace challenges and view failures as opportunities for growth.
Teachers should encourage an environment where students see mistakes as opportunities for growth and learning and motivate them to take risks and try fresh ideas. By acknowledging students' dedication, perseverance, and resilience, teachers promote the notion that success is achievable through hard work and dedication.
One effective strategy is encouraging students to set challenging yet attainable goals, create action plans, and monitor their progress. The students will take responsibility for their learning and thrive academically and individually.
Educators should encourage students to ask questions, be open to exploring new ideas, and conduct research on topics they don’t understand. Teachers should also present students with intriguing questions and real-life challenges that spark their curiosity.
This supportive environment would help students feel comfortable taking risks, making mistakes, finding solutions, and embracing challenges.
Hollis Scarborough developed a writing model known as the "writing rope." It explains the multi-component nature of writing and how teachers can provide instruction on each component. The components include:
Understanding and using this model would help students articulate the skills necessary to become better writers. It would also be easier for them to become critical thinkers, write quality research papers and essays, and implement this knowledge into other subjects in the curriculum.
Teachers must remind students to be conscious of the need to learn and make decisions about what they learn. This might involve giving students the freedom to choose project topics or how they present the knowledge they have learned.
Giving students greater autonomy increases their level of engagement and investment. Teachers can also help students set specific goals for their academic growth by identifying areas in which they wish to progress and creating action plans to achieve those goals.
Educators should equip students with common digital skills and tech know-how, including software applications, spreadsheets, and presentation and AI tools.
Teachers should guide them through effectively utilizing each tool's features. The importance, advantages, and disadvantages of technology should be emphasized to prepare students for the demands of the modern world and for future success.
Children are naturally curious to learn and explore. It’s the responsibility of the teachers to lay a strong foundation for students to express this curiosity and develop a growth mindset easily. Teachers should also create a supportive environment that encourages feedback and trust.
Writing isn't just for an English class — it's for every class! Whether science, history, math, or art, writing is crucial in helping students develop skills they can use in all areas of life.
Writing across the curriculum (WAC) refers to a system of teaching and learning that encourages teachers across different subjects to use writing as a tool in their curriculum. This allows students to think critically like experts. Students could also analyze information and solve problems in real time.
Some effective WAC strategies that can be implemented are:
By including writing across the curriculum, teachers are honing their students' critical thinking and communication skills and helping them become better writers.
The availability of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has greatly influenced the educational sector. AI shouldn’t be viewed as the only tool necessary for writing but as a tool to assist writing. AI can help to improve students' writing skills if used wisely. That’s why Pressto develops AI writing tools that help students use this amazing technology to become better writers.
Educators must ensure that students understand the limitations of AI tools and encourage them to use them as aids rather than replacements for critical thinking and creativity. Educators should also understand that not all students may have equal access to technology or are comfortable using AI tools; therefore, they should provide support and training to ensure that all students can benefit from these resources.
Tools like Pressto help teachers implement best practices in writing instruction by:
For example, start with your writing plan, topic, or grade level. Then, it’ll generate writing prompts based on that information.
Pressto also offers comprehensive student progress tracking so teachers can easily track their student’s progress and provide personalized feedback for each person’s learning needs or challenges.
To understand more about how Pressto can assist in improving writing instruction, watch our intro video here.
The goal of whichever AI tool you use should be to help students become more confident and proficient writers.
Addressing the decline in student writing skills is a complex issue that demands careful consideration and proactive solutions.
Teachers should help students become better writers who understand the limitations of technology and can leverage it to their advantage. Educators should also adopt effective teaching methods that cultivate a culture of continuous learning within students.
Learn more about how Pressto can revolutionize writing instruction and equip students with the skills they need for success.
