How Harmony Public Schools Increased Student Writing and Boosted Teacher Effectiveness in Grades 3–12

“Prior to NoRedInk, we didn’t have a systematic procedure for capturing student writing, so I didn’t see a lot of pen to paper. Last school year, I saw more students producing more writing than in any other year.”
Dr. Amy Chankin, Assistant Area Superintendent of the Central Texas District

Learn more about NoRedInk for Grades 3-5

How Harmony Public Schools Increased Student Writing and Boosted Teacher Effectiveness in Grades 3–12

Harmony Public Schools

Texas

District Data

45,575 students
60 schools
Grades preK–12
67% economically disadvantaged
33% multilingual learners
www.harmonytx.org

Student Data

11% African American
19% Asian
52% Hispanic
3% Multiple Races
15% White

Challenges

Teachers needed to adapt instruction to new digital, writing-heavy state assessment
Students in previously untested grades ill-equipped to demonstrate their learning
Gaps in existing ELA curriculum
Inconsistent use of writing- and grammar-focused instructional materials
Lack of teacher confidence and capacity for writing instruction
Lack of insight into students’ writing progress

Implementation

NoRedInk Premium)
Grades 3–12

Results

Increased grade 3 writing submissions by 75% in four months
Increased grades 4–12 writing submissions by 135% in two years
Improved consistency and effectiveness in systemwide writing instruction
Teachers are more confident writing instructors; students are more confident writers

When state lawmakers announced a redesign of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR), Harmony leaders decided it was time to change their approach to writing instruction. Like many districts, Harmony had only been emphasizing consistent writing instruction in grades that were tested on writing. While the STAAR had previously assessed writing only in grades 4 and 7, the new test would assess students in grades 3 through 10. The redesign would also move the assessment online, reduce the percentage of multiple-choice questions, and prioritize cross-curricular passages and evidence-based writing.

“Our English language arts and reading curriculum had gaps in writing in the grade levels that were not previously tested on the STAAR,” said Dr. Amy Chankin, Assistant Area Superintendent of the Central Texas District, one of seven districts in the Harmony system.

Teachers lacked insight into students’ writing progress, and the materials teachers were using varied from class to class. “Because teachers were relying on such a wide range of materials, there was some ambiguity in grading, and instruction varied. Our teachers were using some great instructional practices, but they were very labor-intensive and often lacked a digital component,” she said.

Many teachers also felt unprepared to teach writing effectively. “We have amazing educators in Harmony, but most teachers expressed that because they never received explicit instruction in writing pedagogy, they felt ill-equipped to teach it,” said Chankin.

Increasing writing frequency by nearly 2.5x in grades 4–12

After conducting a small pilot with secondary students, Harmony launched NoRedInk Premium in grades 6–12 across all of its districts and then added grades 4–5 as well. “We chose NoRedInk because we wanted a platform that would help all our students, and particularly our emergent bilingual (EB) students, build their writing and grammar skills,” said Chankin.

During 2021–2022 — the first year that NoRedInk was used systemwide in grades 4–12 — students completed roughly 100,000 writing assignments. By 2023–2024, that number had increased to 232,000 student writing assignments in grades 4–12.

“Prior to NoRedInk, we didn’t have a systematic procedure for capturing student writing, so I didn’t see a lot of pen to paper. Last school year, I saw more students producing more writing than in any other year,” said Chankin.

Keri Bell, Director of Literacy Programs for Harmony Public Schools, agrees. “NoRedInk gives students multiple at-bats to engage in writing—and in a more authentic context than test prep booklets, multiple-choice questions, or daily oral language activities can provide. Students can engage with a writing prompt or practice exercises knowing they’re getting what they need to perform well on the STAAR,” she said.

Thanks to these strong results, when Harmony leaders heard that NoRedInk was launching an offering specifically tailored to the needs of learners in grades 3–5, they were eager to give it a try.

Expanding NoRedInk to grade 3

During the 2023–2024 school year, six schools in Harmony’s Central Texas District piloted the new NoRedInk for Grades 3–5 offering with 418 third graders. Throughout the pilot, Harmony leaders worked closely with the NoRedInk team to embed the comprehensive writing platform into their curriculum and instruction.

“NoRedInk linked specific activities to our scope and sequence so teachers could easily see all the resources available for a skill and pull exactly what they needed, when they needed it,” said Elise Koestner, Harmony’s Curriculum Director for English Language Arts and Reading in grades 3–5. “It’s a great help to teachers because their time is so valuable.”

Equipped with NoRedInk’s standards-aligned diagnostics, adaptive skills exercises, scaffolded writing activities, and comprehensive instructional support, Harmony teachers were able to simplify the process of building strong writers through a variety of approaches.

“NoRedInk is used in our ‘blended learning model,’ where students work in small groups with teachers and then practice independently,” said Chankin.

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