_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                     |              Percent of students reporting the statement is true more than half the time, by grade level
                                     |_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
      Statements about writing       |                Grade 4                |              Grade 8              |               Grade 11
                                     |_______________________________________|___________________________________|___________________________________
                                     |   1984  |   1990  |   1992  |   1994  |   1984 |   1990 |   1992 |   1994 |   1984 |   1990 |   1992 |   1994
_____________________________________|_________|_________|_________|_________|________|________|________|________|________|________|________|________
                  1                  |    2    |    3    |    4    |    5    |    6   |    7   |    8   |    9   |   10   |   11   |   12   |   13
_____________________________________|_________|_________|_________|_________|________|________|________|________|________|________|________|________
Writing helps me think more clearly .|---  --- |---  --- |---  --- |---  --- |44 (2.0)|46 (1.2)|42 (1.6)|42 (1.1)|52 (2.5)|47 (1.4)|50 (1.5)|54 (1.2)
Writing helps me tell others         |         |         |         |         |        |        |        |        |        |        |        |
 what I think .......................|---  --- |---  --- |---  --- |---  --- |52 (2.1)|56 (1.3)|52 (1.8)|54 (1.3)|55 (1.9)|58 (1.2)|57 (1.2)|58 (1.4)
Writing helps tell others how I feel.|---  --- |---  --- |---  --- |---  --- |50 (2.0)|56 (1.7)|52 (1.8)|52 (1.5)|55 (2.3)|60 (1.3)|60 (1.2)|60 (1.4)
Writing helps me understand          |         |         |         |         |        |        |        |        |        |        |        |
 my own feelings ....................|---  --- |---  --- |---  --- |---  --- |40 (2.2)|47 (1.6)|44 (1.4)|45 (1.4)|47 (2.1)|50 (1.3)|49 (1.4)|54 (1.7)
People who write well have a better  |         |         |         |         |        |        |        |        |        |        |        |
 chance of getting good jobs ........|---  --- |---  --- |---  --- |---  --- |47 (2.0)|53 (1.3)|51 (1.5)|51 (1.6)|54 (2.1)|58 (1.5)|59 (1.3)|58 (1.6)
                                     |         |         |         |         |        |        |        |        |        |        |        |
People who write well are            |         |         |         |         |        |        |        |        |        |        |        |
 more influential ...................|---  --- |---  --- |---  --- |---  --- |49 (1.9)|55 (1.3)|52 (1.6)|51 (1.5)|54 (2.4)|60 (1.2)|60 (1.5)|57 (1.5)
I like to write .....................| 56 (2.3)| 57 (1.7)| 54 (1.4)| 56 (2.0)|39 (2.5)|42 (1.3)|43 (1.8)|42 (1.5)|40 (2.5)|39 (1.3)|43 (1.7)|42 (1.8)
I am a good writer ..................| 60 (2.1)| 62 (1.4)| 63 (1.3)| 64 (1.4)|42 (1.8)|44 (1.3)|44 (1.5)|49 (1.9)|39 (1.9)|44 (1.3)|49 (1.7)|46 (1.8)
People like what I write ............| 53 (2.1)| 56 (1.8)| 55 (1.4)| 58 (1.6)|38 (2.4)|39 (1.6)|44 (1.7)|44 (1.8)|36 (2.6)|42 (1.3)|46 (1.5)|44 (2.2)
I write on my own outside of school .| 48 (1.9)| 42 (1.5)| 46 (1.2)| 45 (1.8)|36 (2.5)|35 (1.4)|37 (1.6)|36 (1.7)|31 (2.7)|28 (1.0)|33 (1.3)|32 (1.9)
                                     |         |         |         |         |        |        |        |        |        |        |        |
I don't like to write things that    |         |         |         |         |        |        |        |        |        |        |        |
  will be graded ....................| 38 (2.0)| 33 (1.5)| 32 (1.2)| 33 (1.2)|31 (2.2)|36 (1.2)|37 (1.8)|38 (1.4)|27 (1.9)|30 (1.4)|30 (1.2)|33 (1.3)
If I didn't have to write for        |         |         |         |         |        |        |        |        |        |        |        |
  school, I wouldn't write anything .| 33 (1.7)| 27 (1.2)| 28 (1.2)| 27 (1.3)|17 (2.2)|19 (1.1)|18 (1.1)|21 (1.2)|15 (1.4)|16 (1.0)|17 (1.2)|17 (1.1)
_____________________________________|_________|_________|_________|_________|________|________|________|________|________|________|________|________