Student Writing Proficiency Levels Not Where They Should Be

One commonly mentioned problem in the field of writing education is that student proficiency levels are simply not high enough . When the National Center for Education Statistics released the results of a study called the National Assessment in Writing in 1999, only about a quarter of students had reached the "proficient" level. Students at the proficient level are defined as able to perform up to the expected writing standards for their grade level. Students at the basic level are still learning some of these skills, and students below basic are far behind what is expected of them at their grade level. While only 1 percent of students in grades 4, 8, and 12 were listed as "advanced" for their grade-level (beyond proficient), 16 percent of fourth, and eighth graders and 22 percent of twelfth graders were listed as "below basic" (National, 99). Clearly there is a problem in the state of this nation's education system if so many students are doing so much worse than expected and only one quarter are performing at the expected level. A research project needs to be undertaken to determine what methods might be most effective in increasing the number of students at the proficient level.

To document this problem for my research plan I have chosen a bar graph. The reason for this choice is that this is the best way to display the data to allow for comparison and to provide a visual demonstration of the percentage of students at each level. For example, looking at the graph one can clearly see that twelfth graders are doing slightly worse than fourth and eighth graders, and also that there is a relatively small percentage of each group in the "At/Above Proficient" category. This provides the documentation necessary of a serious problem that needs to be addressed.

Reference

National study confirms students lack the 'write' stuff. (1999). Curriculum

Administrator, 35(12), 8-10.