Writing instruction in Wayne County high schools is influenced by several factors. College entrance exams now test writing ability, so teachers focus on helping students write well for academic and career success. Effective strategies include writing workshops and assigning genres like multi-genre papers. However, large class sizes, student backgrounds, standardized tests, and lack of publication opportunities impact how local teachers approach writing instruction. The document calls for policymakers and teachers to address these challenges to improve writing proficiency in Wayne County schools.

1. Writing Instruction in
Wayne County High
Schools
McKayla Heller

2. Indiana is at the forefront of
changing education policy.
College entrance Education changes
exams have begun to focus on preparing
test students in other students for success
areas - specifically, in college and in their
writing. careers.

3. To help students succeed, educators
should focus on teaching students
how to write well.
Incoming college
Writing benefits
students benefit
job seekers.
from writing.

4. There are several teaching strategies
that students can benefit from.
Teachers Nancie
Atwell, Kelley
Gallagher, and Tom
Romano have created
some of these
strategies.

5. Nancie Atwell takes the writing workshop
and adapts it to the structured
environment of public and private
schools.

6. For Kelley Gallagher, students must see
writing as a real and important task
outside of high school to, "give writing
the time and attention it deserves".

7. Tom Romano assigns the multi-genre
paper, a work, "composed of many genres
and subgenres, each piece self contained,
making a point of its own, yet connected
by theme or topic and sometimes by
language, images, and content".

8. Several factors influence how
writing is taught.

9. A teacher's professional development
influences writing instruction.
● Reading books and attending conferences
are two ways that local teachers gain ideas
for modifying the way they teach writing.

10. The students in a classroom
influence how writing is taught.
● Large classes make the workshop, multiple
assignments, and other methods seem
daunting and work intensive.
● Some teachers indicated that students from
low-income backgrounds are harder to
teach.
○ These students show low engagement with the
assignments and exhibit negative attitudes.

11. Standardized tests sometimes influence
writing instruction but most often do not.
● Local teachers said that they:
○ incorporate timed writing practice and
○ use the standardized test grading rubric to assess
class assignments.

12. In the coming years, it is more likely that
state tests will change how teachers teach
writing.
● RISE Indiana measures the level of student learning by
looking at test scores. Classes with high test scores
have effective teachers.
● Only 63.5% of Wayne County students passed their
English standardized tests in 2011. This means that
local teachers would fall under the 'improvement
needed' category. None of them would be considered
effective.

13. Policy makers must recognize that low test
scores are not synonymous with good tests.
● Standardized tests should contain
somewhat difficult questions that can be
answered but that challenge the student
enough so that he or she can learn from the
experience.
● If tests do not do this, they are useless in
discerning writing proficiency.

14. Whether or not students attempt
publication strongly influences writing
instruction.
● Through attempted publication, students come to see
writing as important and as a message to multiple,
living readers.
● Almost none of the Wayne County students who were
surveyed said that they publish their writing.
● To improve local writing instruction, requiring students
to attempt publication is strongly recommendation.

15. In conclusion, writing is important, various
teaching methods are available, and many
factors influence how a teacher shapes their
classroom. Learning about these teaching
methods and researching ways to alter and
improve the classroom is vitally important
for the success of Wayne County students.

16. Questions?