We conduct extensive surveys, both of teachers and students, to measure the effectiveness of the WITS program in each school we serve. We administer pre- and post-residency surveys of students and teachers, lead a teacher focus group, engage in classroom observations, and collect year-end reflective essays by the writers-in-residence as well as as-taught syllabi.
Our comprehensive suite of evaluation tools demonstrate that WITS improves students’ interest in writing, desire to write, and self-confidence, while also giving them ongoing, intensive hands-on exposure to the art and craft of writing.
Our recent survey results show that WITS works:
♦ 93% of teachers stated WITS writers effectively crafted lessons to achieve the learning outcomes.
♦ 89% of teachers declared that students’ self-confidence improved.
♦ 79% of teachers asserted that students improved their quality of writing.
♦ 77% of teachers reported that students’ interest in writing increased.
♦ Evaluation of pre- and post-residency writing samples revealed that student writing improved 16% on average after working with the WITS writer-in-residence—the equivalent of raising a C- (70%) to a solid B (86%).
“For my students, WITS offers liberation. Our WITS poets break down the school walls and set kids free to read and write in the world. The majority of my students live in poverty, but through WITS they have learned that writing is a kind of wealth no one can take away, ever.”
–Jo Cripps, Teacher, Summit K-12
Click here to download our 2010-11 Evaluation Summary.
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