Writing is the expression of ideas and feelings through the use of written symbols. Over the years, the rapid integration of technology into home and school environments has challenged traditional definitions of writing. Voice-activated software blurs the boundaries between oral and written language. While the mediating tools for writing are changing, the process of coding experiences into symbols (words) to provide meaning continues to be central to written expression. The writer remains the essential catalyst. Critical to evaluating a student's writing abilities is an understanding of the writer's background experiences (school and home), as well as emotional, cognitive, and linguistic abilities.

A growing number of students in our school systems are experiencing difficulty with written expression. The etiology of these problems is certainly not singular and ...