Though writing plays an important role in academic, social, and economic success, typical writing instruction generally does not reflect evidence-based practices (EBPs). One potential reason for this is limited signposting of EBPs in standards. We analyzed the content of writing standards from a representative sample of states and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for writing and language to determine to what degree EBPs were signposted, variability of this signposting, and the overlap of practices signposted in states’ standards and the CCSS. We found a few practices signposted fairly consistently (e.g., isolated components of writing process instruction) and others rarely so (e.g., use of text models), as well as great variability across standards, with some covering almost half of the EBPs and others far fewer. Only a few states’ writing standards overlapped considerably with the CCSS. We discuss the implications of these findings for teacher professional development and for evaluating standards.
