When Bremen High School District 228 set out to improve writing outcomes across our district, our goal was simple: equip every student with the writing skills they need to excel academically.
Since Illinois will be using the ACT as its state assessment for writing beginning in spring 2025, we chose ACT scores as our objective measure of success. With a diverse population of more than 5,000 students, including many from low-income, minority, and English language learner backgrounds, we needed an equitable, scalable approach to help us reach our goals.
Our district-wide approach included offering students individualized support, tracking their progress and providing actionable feedback to improve their writing. We also equipped teachers with tools to personalize their instruction.
At the end of the first year, we saw impressive results: scores on the Heavily Tested Skills Benchmark assessment increased across all grade levels of our four high schools, with one school seeing an impressive 27% jump among 11th graders. Here’s how we achieved this success, and how other districts can replicate it.
A plan grounded in equity
One of the challenges we identified was that students were entering the district without foundational grammar skills. We needed Tier 2 writing interventions that would allow us to address these skills gaps.
Using the online writing program NoRedInk, I started sending out benchmarks to teachers each semester, including a list of skills often tested on the ACT, along with a pre- and a post-assessment for each. This helped us identify the topics where students were struggling—such as identifying nouns and verbs—so that teachers could give each student personalized content for practice.
Empowering teachers through PLCs
To support teachers in connecting writing activities to students’ interests, we encouraged our professional learning committees to discuss how to integrate writing into each teacher’s classroom in the ways that made the most sense for their students. Teachers adopted a variety of approaches, including:
- Weekly exercises using a personalized practice engine;
- Bell ringer activities; and
- Writing practice paired with other activities such as quick writes, skill-building exercises, and summative assessments.
Another positive outcome of these PLC meetings was that many teachers said their students get anxious looking at a blank Google Doc page, and the groups were able to come up with solutions that we could scale up to the district level.
Impressive results and next steps
One powerful way that teachers have engaged students in the writing process is by allowing them a choice of what to write about. This empowers them to use their voice, which makes facing the blank page less daunting.
Teachers also encourage students to slow down and work through the process step by step, starting with developing a clear topic before writing an introduction, then the body of assignment, then the conclusion. This approach has reduced students’ anxiety, particularly those who need extra support. Along with decreased stress, we’ve seen increased scores on our ACT Heavily Tested Skills Benchmark assessment.
From August to November, our students averaged 17% growth on the English portion of the benchmark assessment. We saw double-digit increases at every high school and grade level, including at our two Title 1 schools. Our biggest leap was among 11th graders at Tinley Park High School, whose scores increased by an average of 27%.
In the new year, we’re also working on teaching students to use AI as a productive part of their writing process. Some teachers feel comfortable teaching their classes how to use AI appropriately, while others tend to shy away.
We have a districtwide AI committee that is working to get everybody to a place where we can teach students to use AI as a source of ideas but not final drafts. For now, when a teacher spots an assignment that appears to be AI-generated, our approach is more restorative than punitive.
The teacher might say, “I’ve read your writing before, and this just doesn’t sound like you. What happened?” As with all our writing instruction, the goal is to create a collaborative process that helps students develop essential skills and—we hope—learn to enjoy writing.
