ERB announced today the availability of ERB Writing Practice, an online program designed to help students improve their writing skills through practice, feedback, and guided support backed by the industry’s most accurate automated scoring algorithm. ERB Writing Practice helps educators and families save valuable time while giving students immediate and individualized feedback and opportunities for growth.
Why ERB Writing Practice?
Our mission is to help students reach their full potential. To achieve this, we are continually improving our programs for educators and families, so they have the right tools to activate and track student growth. In this spirit, we asked users of ERB’s previous writing program, WPP, to tell us about their experience with the former program, their needs, and how we can best support them.
The new Writing Practice includes all of the existing features of WPP, but with a refreshed design, improved user experience, and exciting new features and enhancements.
We also looked at the important aspects of effective learning: practice and feedback. We designed Writing Practice around this approach, incorporating instant feedback and extensive opportunities for students to practice in a low-stakes environment. To round it out, teachers have access to comprehensive reporting to track growth and learning year-round.
The redesigned program includes over 500 prompts as well as the flexibility for teachers to write their own prompts. Students can practice these prompts at any time to hone their writing skills. Additionally, educators can select from over 100 lessons on-demand, saving them valuable time teaching the core skills that develop great writers.
The Practice – Feedback – Practice Approach
In addition to the robust content library, there are multiple ways to review a student’s work and provide instant, actionable feedback, further enriching the student learning experience. These include teacher feedback, peer reviews, and the Project Essay Grade® (PEG®) scoring algorithm, an automated essay scoring solution based on more than 40 years of research by Dr. Ellis Batten Page. The PEG scoring algorithm is the “gold standard.” Its scoring results have been validated in more independent studies than all other essay scoring solutions combined. This automated, AI-based tool provides students with real-time feedback, allowing them to review and practice again. Students who used PEG feedback and traditional writing instruction showed a 22% improvement in writing over those who did not.
“The most gratifying aspect of offering members ERB Writing Practice is that we have the research to demonstrate it works” says ERB’s Chief Program Officer, Glenn Milewski; “at $18 per student, it’s a small investment for a big, year-round return.”
Saving Valuable Time
Educators using the Writing Practice program can look forward to more control and a seamless user interface. This includes the new Self-Rostering feature, which enables schools to roster their students rather than wait days for that to be handled for them. This saves valuable time, allowing teachers more time to focus on their students.
“Writing Practice is the perfect tool to improve a student’s writing skills. I have seen the tool increase writing abilities from a sixth-grade to a ninth-grade level in under a year. It is versatile, like a Swiss army knife. The program can be utilized across subjects and grade levels. The best part is seeing a student’s growth over time.”
— Bob Doss, Bob Doss Coaching
Availability and Pricing Information
Member Schools
ERB Writing Practice is a considerable upgrade from the WPP program, and we are excited to offer it to schools today. For ERB Member schools, Writing Practice is $18 per student for the 2022-23 school year. Schools can request a free demo for more information and purchase through the Shopping Cart at ordering.erblearn.org.
Families
Families can purchase through the Family Store.
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About ERB
ERB is a not-for-profit educational advisory group that provides educators and families with a complete understanding of the whole student. K-12 schools worldwide rely on ERB to provide them with an integrated suite of assessments, insights, and analytics that track the complete student journey—assessing academic ability, learning achievement, and social and emotional learning competencies. To learn more, visit www.erblearn.org.
