"Most of the nation's eighth- and 12th-graders are doing a solid job of writing to inform, persuade, and tell stories," said Amanda Avallone, vice chair of the National Assessment Governing Board and assistant principal and eighth-grade teacher at Summit Middle Charter School in Boulder, Colo. "But we need to work harder to strengthen achievement for Black students."

Those comments sum up the release of the NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) writing scores. On average, scores for assessment were slightly higher in 2007 than in previous assessments in 2002 and 1998.

At grade 8 in 2007:

• The average writing score was 3 points higher than in 2002 and 6 points higher than in 1998.
• The percentage of students performing at or above the Basic level increased from 85 percent in 2002 to 88 percent and was also higher than in 1998.
• The percentage of students performing at or above the Proficient level was higher than in 1998 but showed no significant change since 2002.

At grade 12 in 2007:

• The average writing score was 5 points higher than in 2002 and 3 points higher than in 1998.
• The percentage of students performing at or above the Basic level increased from 74 percent in 2002 to 82 percent and was also higher than in 1998.
• The percentage of students performing at or above the Proficient level was higher than in 1998 but showed no significant change since 2002.

Scores have increased for White, Black and Asian/Pacific Islander students at both grades. However, White students continue to outperform African-American and Hispanic students by large margins at both grade levels. The average score for Hispanic eighth-graders was higher in 2007 than in both previous assessments, but there was no significant change for Hispanic students at grade 12. There is also evidence that gaps between Black and White students are closing at grade 8. The gender gap is narrower than in 2002, but roughly the same as 1998.

In addition to the national results, The Nation's Report Card: Writing 2007 also includes results for 46 states and jurisdictions and for 10 large urban school districts that voluntarily participated in the assessment at the eighth-grade level.

Of the 39 states and jurisdictions that participated in the writing assessment in both 2007 and 2002, average writing scores increased for 19 states and the Department of Defense schools, while scores decreased for only one state, North Carolina. Eighteen states showed no significant changes in writing scores.

At the same time, three of the four urban districts that participated in both 2007 and 2002-Atlanta, Chicago, and Los Angeles-improved their overall scores significantly. And all four, including Houston, significantly reduced the percentage of students performing below Basic. In addition, Atlanta and Chicago increased the percentages of students reaching the Proficient level, with Atlanta more than doubling that number from 9 percent to 19 percent. Average scores for the participating urban districts-which also include Austin, Texas; Boston; Charlotte, N.C.; Cleveland; New York City; and San Diego-were below the national average with the exception of Charlotte.

Source: The Nation's Report Card: Writing