Dr. John Crook

The primary purpose of this study was to determine if there were significant differences between the growth in writing performance of seventh-grade students who received computer-assisted instruction and seventh-grade students who did not receive computer-assisted instruction. More specifically, the researcher sought to determine the differrence in the students' growth in the general, mechanical, and total writing performance between the two groups. In addition this study was designed to: (1) ascertain the total, general, and mechanical writing performance of those students who experienced writing with word processors; (2) ascertain the difference in the total, general, and mechanical writing performance between male and female students who experienced writing with word processors; (3) compare the total language percentile scores on the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills with the percentage of growth, as determined by the Diederich Composition Rating Scale, for those students who experienced writing with word processors; and (4) compare the perceptions toward writing between the students who experienced writing with word processors and students who wrote with pen and paper. Two seventh-grade classes were compared for writing growth. The experimental class wrote their assignments on word processors, while the control group wrote with pen and paper during an entire semester. A team of three trained raters scored the pretest and posttest essays, using the Diederich Composition Rating Scale. The mean scores on these essays provided the basic data used to test the hypotheses. The results of the study indicated that seventh-grade students successfully completed their writing assignments on word processors. There was no significant difference between the growth in writing performance of the group of students who wrote with word processors and those students who wrote with pen and paper. However, the majority of students who wrote with word processors experienced considerable writing growth and their growth in writing was greater than those students who wrote with pen and paper.