Teacher Feedback, Writing Assignment Quality, and Third-Grade Students' Revision in Lower-And Higher-Achieving Urban Schools

Abstract

The relation of the quality of writing assignments and written instructor responses to student writings to the quality of subsequent student work was investigated in 29 urban third-grade classrooms in 8 schools. Writing assignments were generally of a higher quality in the 4 schools that served primarily middle-class, higher-achieving students, most of whom were white or Asian, versus the 4 schools that served primarily low-income and lower-achieving students, the majority of whom were Latino. Across all classrooms, however, teachers focused on standardizing students' written output, which led to marked improvement in the writing mechanics of students' work. Results of regression analyses indicated that the amount and type of feedback students received predicted a significant, although small, proportion of the variance in the quality of the content, organization, and mechanics of students' final drafts. The quality of the writing assignments predicted a small but significant proportion of the variance in the quality of the content of students' final drafts only. These findings raise questions about the implementation of broad educational policies in classrooms, such as using the writing process approach, and indicate a need for professional development for teachers.