Date of Award
2026
Degree Name
Leadership Studies
College
College of Education and Professional Development
Type of Degree
Ed.D.
Document Type
Dissertation
First Advisor
Dr. Barbara Nicholson
Second Advisor
Dr. Tammy Johnson
Third Advisor
Dr. Sharon Chaney
Abstract
The 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) writing assessment revealed that only 27% of eighth and 12th graders are proficient in writing. The federal No Child Left Behind and Every Student Succeeds Acts have put pressure on schools to demonstrate proficiency on reading and math tests, leaving minimal time for instruction in other subjects, including writing. In addition to the pressure of standardized testing, teachers also find themselves underprepared to teach writing and overwhelmed by the demands of large teaching loads. While researchers have reported benefits associated with cognitive writing strategies since the 1960s, instructional demands have prevented adequate integration of these strategies into high school curricula. This study explores the potential effect(s) of the implementation of consistent cross-curricular writing expectations and the use of a uniform writing model on the writing scores of ninth- and 10th-grade students across a suburban district in Tennessee. This study contributes to the research on the impact of cognitive writing strategies in high school classrooms in the interest of improving students’ writing skills. This was a descriptive, non-experimental study that employed a paired-samples pretest-posttest model to assess the difference(s), if any, in written expression scores for ninth- and 10th-grade students between the 2024-2025 state standardized testing cycle and the Tennessee End of Course (EOC) exam administered in December 2025. Paired surveys of teachers responsible for writing instruction, including ninth- and 10th-grade English, science, and social studies teachers, helped to provide data on both the past writing practices of these teachers and the implementation of writing interventions in high school classrooms across the district.
Subject(s)
Educational leadership.
English.
Education, Secondary.
Writing.
Education, Secondary -- Writing.
Educational tests and measurements -- Standards.
Writing -- Psychological aspects.
Teachers -- Education (Secondary)
Teachers -- Writing.
Tennessee.
Recommended Citation
Wilson, Bethany A., "An analysis of the impact of cognitive writing strategies on high school writing scores in a suburban Tennessee district" (2026). Theses, Dissertations and Capstones. 2029.
https://mds.marshall.edu/etd/2029
Included in
Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons, Educational Methods Commons, Secondary Education Commons
