When Feedback Wins: A Georgia Writing Story We Love

Let’s tell you a story about 532 middle school students in Georgia… and what happened when teachers leaned into feedback.

This fall, ThinkCERCA partnered with researchers at Instructure to study how ThinkCERCA Core ELAR connects to student writing growth. The study met the requirements for Level III (Promising Evidence) under the Every Student Succeeds Act, which means the results weren’t just interesting; they were rigorous, statistically sound, and worth celebrating.

And celebrate we will.

Here’s the headline: students whose ThinkCERCA writing lessons were graded by their teachers scored 9 points higher on their mid-year benchmark writing assessment than students whose lessons were submitted but not graded. Nine points. In one semester. That’s not a tiny nudge forward—that’s visible, meaningful growth.

Now let’s talk about why that matters.

This wasn’t a comparison of “students who used the platform” versus “students who didn’t.” Every student in the study was using ThinkCERCA Core ELAR. They were reading, annotating, building arguments, and practicing the CERCA framework (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning, Counterargument, Audience). The key difference came down to one powerful instructional move: teacher feedback.

When teachers graded lessons—providing rubric-aligned scores, comments, and guidance—students grew more.

Not because they did more assignments.
Not because they spent more time online.
But because someone responded to their thinking.

And that’s the magic.

Across the district, about 62% of students had at least one teacher-graded lesson during the fall semester. Those students showed significantly stronger mid-year writing performance—even after researchers controlled for beginning-of-year writing scores and grade level. In other words, the growth wasn’t accidental. Feedback made a difference.

One of the most exciting findings came from Grade 8, where the effect size was especially strong. Middle schoolers on the edge of high school responded powerfully to structured argument practice paired with teacher input. That’s the kind of momentum districts dream about heading into ninth grade.

So what do we do with this?

First, protect the feedback loop. Even a handful of graded assignments made a measurable difference. Schools don’t need to grade everything—but they do need to ensure students regularly receive actionable feedback on their writing.

Second, lean into consistency over perfection. Feedback doesn’t have to be paragraphs long. A clear rubric score and one focused “grow” comment can move learning forward. What matters most is that students know what to adjust next time.

Third, use benchmark moments as instruction—not just measurement. In this study, writing assessments were professionally scored, giving schools clean, reliable data. That kind of information becomes incredibly powerful when teachers unpack it together and connect it directly back to daily instruction.

The biggest takeaway from this Georgia story? Curriculum provides structure. Technology supports practice. But teachers drive growth.

When students write, and teachers respond, improvement follows.

We love data that confirms what great educators already know: feedback fuels progress. And now, with ESSA Level III evidence backing it up, we have both the heart story and the research story to tell.

If nine points can happen in one semester, imagine what a full year of intentional feedback could unlock.

Georgia just gave us a glimpse of what’s possible.