As a child thinks: an examination of writing self-efficacy and student performance on district writing assessments

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between writing self-efficacy and student performance on district writing prompts and standardized tests on writing subskills. In a sixth grade classroom, writing self-efficacy was determined during the fall and winter using survey scores. These survey scores were then compared to district writing prompt results and a writing subskills test used by the district as one of their multiple measures. Scores were then tested for correlation between each variable. Student conference responses and teacher observations were also used in this study. Results showed slight correlations in two areas during the fall and two other areas during the winter. None of the correlations were found in both test periods. While there was no overall correlation between the writing self-efficacy and student performance on the assessments used, it was apparent that other types of assessments may show a correlation with writing self-efficacy. In addition, a need for more authentic writing activity and more time to write was revealed