Squeezed in: Writing Instruction Over Time Chandra L. Alston 1 and Jessica L. Eagle 1 Abstract The purpose of this study was to understand the nature of writing instruction across time and grade bands. We used quantitative and qualitative analyses of teacher inter- views and video records of classroom instruction of English language arts writing instruction in 97 fourth- through eighth-grade classrooms in 2010 and 2018. Video records showed a decline in writing instruction across time and grade bands. Teacher lessons focused on the first five Common Core Writing Standards with little attention to the latter five. The lessons included aspects of a writing process approach that used instructional scaffolding, models, student practice, and teacher feedback. Lessons were less likely to include the use of authentic texts, text analysis, and stu- dent discussion. Teacher interviews pointed to curricular constraints, a view of writ- ing as peripheral, and comfort with teaching writing as hindrances to quality writing instruction. These findings demonstrate a need for curricular and instructional resources to support teachers in offering consistently quality writing instruction. Keywords writing instruction, curriculum, common core, high-stakes testing, teaching quality Introduction Writing is an important life skill; however, quality writing instruction in US K-12 classrooms has historically been lacking (Applebee & Langer, 2011; Hillocks, 2011). Applebee and Langer (2011) noted little extended writing assigned in secondary classrooms; moreover, the instruction was focused more on form than content with “on average just over three minutes of instruction related to explicit writing strategies” in one class period (p. 21). When investigating English language arts (ELA) writing instruction in fourth through eighth grades, Grossman et al. (2015) observed four times as many reading as writing lessons in a 3,500-lesson sample, with most 1 North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA Corresponding Author: Chandra L. Alston, Learning Policy Institute, 1100 17th Street, NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20036, USA. Email: calston@learningpolicyinstitute.org Original Article Journal of Literacy Research 2024, Vol. 56(3) 190–212 © The Author(s) 2024 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/1086296X241266854 journals.sagepub.com/home/jlr