There is often a gap between knowing whether an educational practice works for students and using that practice in the complex, demanding world of schools. This Toolkit is designed to make it easier for teachers to internalize evidence-based practices, and the study is designed to determine how well having access to the Toolkit works to change instruction and learning.

We will use study findings to help other districts and schools—including but not limited to study schools—use these resources effectively. The study will not be used to evaluate individual schools or teachers, and no data at the individual school- or teacher-level will be shared.

This study is seeking 40 schools in Hawai‘i to participate in the study on the effectiveness of the Secondary Writing Toolkit.

• Schools that serve grades 6, 7, and/or 8.
• Schools that employ at least two English language arts (ELA) teachers in at least one of the target grades.
• Schools in which at least 80% of the ELA teachers in the target grades agree to participate.

HIDOE supports this study and has approved the research plan. If you would like to see a copy of the letter, please reach out to the REL Pacific recruitment team at rel_pacific_in_action@mcrel.org.

The study team selected the state of Hawai‘i because the Toolkit and evaluation activities directly address a need in Hawai‘i to increase English Language Arts (ELA) achievement, which includes a significant focus on writing.

Participating teachers will learn strategies to help them carry out evidence-based practices for teaching writing skills through their engagement in professional learning communities with other teachers in their school. Over time, the Toolkit is designed to support teachers’ knowledge and skills for teaching writing as recommended, assessing students’ strengths and areas for growth in writing, planning instruction that incorporates recommended practices and addresses students’ needs, and exhibiting a sense of efficacy as writers and teachers of writing.

By supporting teachers’ writing instruction skills through implementing the Toolkit, students’ writing skills are expected to improve.

School leaders will learn how to support teachers in using the Toolkit and evidence-based writing practices and how they can support and sustain best practices in writing instruction over time.

In late spring 2024 (around May), Abt Associates will randomly assign half of the participating schools to the Secondary Writing Toolkit Group and the other half to the Comparison Group for the 2024/25 school year. In total, we anticipate the study sample to include 40 schools, with 20 in the Secondary Writing Toolkit Group and 20 in the Comparison Group.

Schools assigned to the Secondary Writing Toolkit Group will receive:

• early access to the Toolkit and implementation supports.
• gift cards for participants who complete study surveys and focus groups (see next question for details).

Schools assigned to the Comparison Group will receive:

• $2,500 at the end of the 2024/25 school year.
• a facilitated book study of the Teaching Secondary Students Writing Practice Guide for grade 6–8 ELA teachers in fall 2025.
• gift cards for participants who complete study surveys and focus groups (see next question for details).

Participants in both the Secondary Writing Toolkit Group and the Comparison Group will receive individual gift cards as appreciation for their time participating in this study.

• Teachers in both the Toolkit Group and the Comparison Group will receive a $10 gift card for every day they complete the instructional log ($100 total if teachers complete all five days in fall 2024 and all five days in spring 2025).
• In the Toolkit Group only:
  • Toolkit teachers and peer facilitators who complete all professional learning trackers following each of the PLC sessions will receive a $50 gift card after the last PLC session.
  • Toolkit teachers and peer facilitators will be eligible for compensation of a $30 gift card if they participate in a focus group.
• School administrators in both the Toolkit Group and Comparison Group will receive a $15 gift card upon completion of the administrator survey.

Schools assigned to the Secondary Writing Toolkit Group will be expected to implement the Toolkit activities during the 2024/25 school year and will receive training and resources for implementation. Specifically:

• Grade 6–8 ELA teachers will get early access to the Toolkit and support for a teacher to serve as a peer facilitator to help teachers learn the practices.
• Teachers and peer facilitators will participate in four to five professional learning community sessions, each session one hour in length, over the school year.
• Teachers and peer facilitators will also be asked to complete surveys throughout the study and participate in a focus group at the end of the study.
• School administrators will also be asked to complete a survey at the end of the study.

Schools assigned to the Comparison Group will be expected to continue with writing instruction as usual during the 2024/25 school year, grade 6–8 ELA teachers will complete surveys at the beginning and end of the study, and school administrators will complete a survey at the end of the study.

Teachers and school administrators will participate in the study in the following ways:

The study results will be summarized across all study participants and schools, and REL Pacific will develop a report of results for ED. The results will also be shared with HIDOE, schools, and teachers. The report will be reviewed against What Works Clearinghouse standards and will be made publicly available through the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). No data at the individual school- or teacher-level will be shared.