Based on two national assessments of the writing proficiency of representative samples of students in grades 4, 8, and 11 conducted during the school years ending in 1984 and 1988, this report assesses the informative, persuasive, and imaginative writing performance of the nation's students and tracks changes in performance over time. The first three chapters of the report describe student performance on the informative, persuasive, and imaginative writing tasks included in the writing trend assessments, based on the results of the primary trait and holistic analyses. The fourth chapter summarizes trends in average task accomplishment for the nation and various demographic subpopulations. In the fifth chapter, trends in students' grammar, punctuation, and spelling are discussed. The sixth chapter discusses factors that appear to be related to writing performance, such as students' instructional experiences and home environment. The report concludes that despite some progress on some tasks, students' writing performance across tasks remains low and has changed little across time. The report also finds that the extent to which students at all grade levels value writing, use it in their own lives, and engage in writing process activities remains quite limited. (A procedural appendix and an appendix of data are attached.) (RS)

Contains information on a variety of subjects within the field of education statistics, including the number of schools and colleges, enrollments, teachers, graduates, educational attainment, finances, Federal funds for education, libraries, international education, and research and development.

This edition is the 30th in a series of publications initiated in 1962. Its primary purpose is to provide a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field of American education from kindergarten through graduate school. The "Digest" includes a selection of data from many sources, and draws especially on the results of surveys and activities of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The publication contains information on a variety of subjects, including: (1) numbers of schools and colleges; (2) numbers of teachers; (3) enrollments; (4) graduates; (5) educational attainment; (6) finances; (7) Federal funds for education; (8) employment and income of graduates; (9) libraries; and (10) international comparisons of education. Supplemental information is provided on population trends, attitudes toward education, educational characteristics of the labor force, government finances, and economic trends. Some information is also given on preschool and adult education. Data are presented in 411 tables, with an additional 20 tables in an appendix. (SLD)