Research Brief: SRI Finds Positive Effects of the College, Career, and Community Writer’s Program on Student Achievement

Citation

Arshan, N. L. & Park, C. J. (2021). Research brief: SRI finds positive effects of the College, Career, and Community Writer’s Program on student achievement. SRI International.

Abstract

The National Writing Project’s (NWP) College, Career, and Community Writers Program (C3WP) is designed to improve students’ argument writing through intensive teacher professional development, instructional resources, and formative assessment. In 2016, based on evidence of C3WP’s prior success in improving student achievement, NWP received a federal Investing in Innovation (i3) Scaleup grant to test C3WP in new contexts.

As part of this grant, SRI International (SRI) conducted a 1-year random assignment evaluation of C3WP in grades 7–9 that found consistent program implementation and positive, statistically significant impacts on student writing achievement.

This is the third evaluation of C3WP in secondary grades, all of which have found positive and statistically significant effects on student achievement. The size, scale, rigor, and independence of these three studies provide a strong evidence base to support C3WP’s effectiveness in improving students’ secondary writing achievement at scale and in diverse contexts.

This research brief provides a high-level overview of C3WP and its evidence base.


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