Teachers spend substantial time on prewriting activities. Teachers focus on developing writers rather than developing portfolios so that, when it is time to put a portfolio together, students have a numberof pieces from which to choose, most of which were written as a natural outcome of their studies. Teachers model parts of the writing process as they work with students. Lessons are crafted to address needs evident in student writing. These audiences read and respond in some fashion to the writing.
Teachers share their own writing with students and invite students' critiques.
An important part of the research was the student interview. Students were interviewed to assess the effect of school conditions and practices on student attitudes and behavior with respect to writing. Students talked about their school writing experience and their perceptions of themselves as writers. In schools with continuously improving portfolio scores, student, teacher, and administrator accounts of writing instruction were highly consistent. A collaborative research project begun in 1996, conducted by staff members of AEL, Inc., the Kentucky Department of Education, and the Kentucky Regional Writing Consultants.