Q: I have a bright 13-year-old who is an eighth-grade student in a public school. It became apparent in the sixth grade that despite his consistently high reading scores, his writing lags significantly behind. We went to the language arts teacher, who was concerned by our worries. We continued to hear from his teacher that he "retells facts" (early elementary skill), does not "infer" or "read between the lines," does not understand the purpose of writing as he should, and does not understand how to communicate a unique point of view and defend it. He is on the low side of average in language arts compared with grade-level peers.

We have asked the school to explain why this is happening and to offer evidence. We are hoping to find a path to improvement. Our son goes to high school next year. With the shift toward Common Core and the subsequent changes to college-related testing, which will further emphasize writing, we need to do something to help him.

Based on your experience, where do you think we should start? Thank you in advance.

A: Your son's struggle with writing is more common than you would believe. More boys than girls seem to avoid learning to write well. Amazingly, even very verbal boys are among those who don't learn good writing skills.

Language arts classes are often large, making it difficult for teachers to help students with their writing skills. For teachers with large classes, grading multiple-choice tests is more efficient than reviewing essays and creative writing. Good writing is absolutely required for college, but the large class sizes are even more of a challenge in a public high school, where teachers may have to review papers for 150 students each time.

Before your son enters high school, I would suggest that either you find a private tutor to review writing skills with him to give him significant guidance on how to communicate better in writing or you request an individualized educational program based on his writing disability. An IEP would allow him special individual writing services in school and prepare him better for high school and college.

Not all highly capable children have even abilities, but most careers require some written work. If your son has strong math and engineering skills, the factual-type writing may be sufficient for a successful career, but most other careers will require something beyond that concrete level of expression.

One suggestion that has helped other boys with this problem is having them speak their story into a recorder first before they write it. After they've talked their ideas out, they seem to become more confident in writing them.

Dr. Sylvia B. Rimm is the director of the Family Achievement Clinic in Cleveland, a clinical professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and the author of many books on parenting. More information on raising kids is available at www.sylviarimm.com. Please send questions to: Sylvia B. Rimm on Raising Kids, P.O. Box 32, Watertown, WI 53094 or [email protected]. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.