Transforming Student Writing Performance
In a study led by leading researcher Dr. Steve Graham during the 2023-2024 school year, middle school students using the Writing Pathway improved 9.3 times more than their peers, with a 24-percentile point gain in persuasive writing.
Committed to Becoming Evidence-Based, Not Just Research-Based
While many educational interventions claim to be "evidence-based," most are actually "research-based." What's the difference? "Research-based" interventions build on existing studies, whereas "evidence-based" means the approach has undergone multiple rigorous, controlled studies with repeated positive results. We're not there yet, but we're well on our way! We've tested the Pathway in two years of quasi-experimental (treatment and control groups) research to ensure effectiveness.
During the 2023-2024 school year, the leading researcher in writing instruction, Dr. Steve Graham, conducted a study of the Writing Pathway with 21 classrooms and 441 students students across the country, which found statistically significant gains in the persuasive writing of students in the treatment group. The participating schools were located in Washington, D.C., Delaware, New Jersey, Montana, and Alabama–and about half were Title I schools. All students in the study took a pre- and post-test (a persuasive writing prompt from a past NAEP exam). Their responses were scored on the SmarterBalanced Argumentative Writing Rubric by a validated automated writing evaluation program.
Key Findings
- ✦Students whose teachers were using the Writing Pathway and attending provided professional learning improved 9.3 times more than control students over the course of the school year (n = 441).
- ✦The Pathway and its professional learning has an effect size of 0.64. This translates to a 24-percentile point improvement. In other words, students starting at the 50th-percentile would reach the 74th-percentile after using the Pathway for a year.
- ✦Professional learning and support for cross-content teams of teachers is critical. We found significantly stronger student outcomes when we increased the professional learning support (from 6 one-hour sessions to 8, over the course of the school year).
- ✦The investment of leadership matters. In schools where a member of the school's leadership team was an active participant in the professional learning, students made more progress and teachers felt more supported.
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