ABSTRACT

Children were recruited for the longitudinal study by sending letters of invitation to parents of every kindergartener or second grader in a large urban school district in the Pacific Northwest. Children were tested annually at the university for a half-day during which they completed writing and other activities in Grades 1-5 (Cohort 1) or Grades 3-7 (Cohort 2). Children with developmental or medical history indicating developmental problems were excluded. The sample was diverse in ethnicity and parents’ level of education. Parent questionnaires documented children’s prior

experience with computers and keyboards both at home and at school. Average achievement of the sample was above the population mean in written expression (see Berninger et al., 2008 for detailed sample description).