Prevailing wisdom holds that the US is facing an educational crisis marked by low levels of writing skill. One primary concern is that teens are not learning the writing content and process skills needed to succeed in continuing education and the workplace.
Research suggests a number of areas for improvement. Recent studies have found that many students are given inadequate writing instruction, little time to practice writing in the classroom environment, and few opportunities to write longer research-type papers., Likewise, high school students are seldom offered writing instruction that spans their curriculum, is authentic and tied to their lives, and is delivered by quality teachers with specific training in content-based writing instruction.
Similarly, there is a strong body of research on best practices in the teaching and learning of writing that can guide individual and institutional reform efforts. Broadly, this research suggests that writing is best taught as an integrated subject, and that strong writing practice combined with consistent feedback is key to developing student skills and achievement. The practical implication is that writing is best taught using a holistic approach that spans subjects and content areas, utilizes methods that draw upon students’ prior knowledge using content that is applicable to their daily lives, and combines traditional grammatical instruction with a comprehensive focus on clear written expression.,,
This survey was fielded to add new voices – those of teens – to this debate. Their responses show that teens do write – overwhelmingly. All of them write for school and 93% of them write for themselves. Teens also enjoy writing. While most report that writing for school assignments can be arduous, they feel real satisfaction and accomplishment when such pieces are recognized for communicating ideas effectively and skillfully. Most teens say that they very much enjoy the writing that they do to communicate with their peers via MySpace, Facebook, and text and instant messaging. Many also report finding satisfaction in their creative writing of poems, plays, journals, songs, raps and multimedia pieces. How much teens write is more nuanced. It is highly dependent upon the individual teen as well as the writing expectations placed upon him/her by school, family, friends and other social sources.