Writing Remediation

If a child cannot form letters with proper legibility and adequate speed, they cannot translate the language in their minds to written text.

As it is imperative for young readers to decode fluently so they can focus on comprehension, it is essential that we ensure our young writers develop fluent, legible handwriting and master other transcription skills like spelling so they can focus on generating and organizing ideas.

They also receive evidence-based strategies and supports to learn planning strategies for organizing their thoughts in the often-overlooked prewriting process.

As we develop metacognitive processes, clients will understand how to be purposeful about working through the progressive stages of the writing process.

Students will be taught the correct use and relationship of words in sentences, text structure, and benefit from explicit instruction in revising and editing strategies.

Students also benefit from explicit instruction for brainstorming strategies and skills for organizing information obtained from a variety of sources, such as note-taking, annotation, presentation.

As students develop skills in these components, they become increasingly strategic and automatic in their application, leading to fluent writing skills.

**Low Levels of Writing Proficiency Much attention has been placed on the 2019 National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) reading assessment results showing that the average reading scores in the U.S. were lower for both fourth- and eighth-grade students compared to 2017, with only 35% of fourth graders and 34% of eighth graders scoring at or above proficient. However, the most recent NAEP writing assessment results (2011) should be even more concerning: only 24% of students at both grades 8 and 12 performed at the proficient level. In reporting these NAEP scores, it was noted, “It is clear that the ability to use written language to communicate with others – and the corresponding need for effective writing instruction and assessment – is more relevant than ever.” Yet the degree of focus placed on writing is much less than the attention paid to reading.