Achievement Awards in Writing
*NEW* Printable, student-facing poster for NCTE’s three recurring Student Writing Awards.
Now accepting nominations!
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Prompt: Read the prompt for the 2026 awards, titled “The Joy and Power of Reading.”
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Nomination application: Nominating educators can access the application here.
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Note that you must be signed in to your NCTE account to access the nomination form. Create an account here.
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More info: Guidelines and details are available here.
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Deadline: February 15, 2026.
Purpose
To encourage high school sophomores and juniors to write and to publicly recognize the best student writing.
Questions?
Please email studentwriting@ncte.org.
Key dates each cycle
- Summer: prompt becomes available.
- Fall: award opens for submissions.
- February 15: contest closes.
- Mid-May: results emailed to nominating educators.
A Special Milestone
In 2024 and 2025, for the first time since the NCTE Achievement Awards in Writing opened to tenth-graders, three contest participants took top honors for two years in a row—with each winning First Class in both grades 10 and 11.
NCTE is highlighting the achievements and education experiences of these students in a blog post series.
Exemplary Past Submissions
Below are some exemplars of award-winning submissions from past cycles. These students received 100% scores from each judge who read their pieces and had high praise for the quality of writing.
Caroline Johnston (Judges said, “This writer has an incredible command of language. Her imagery, her metaphors, her rhythms are beautiful.”)
Pedro Juan Orduz (Judges said, “This young writer communicates astoundingly well. His writing resounds with authenticity and voice, grabs the reader’s attention and holds it until the very last word and leaves the reader wanting more. Outstanding work and a joy to read.”)
Grace Ma (Judges said, “The writer has an incredible voice and a command of pacing and character development far beyond her years.”
*These examples are meant to be used as inspiration to teachers and their students for the purposes of this award and to showcase the excellent work of these students. Please do not share or copy these students’ work improperly.*
The recipients of the First Class designation are listed by state below.
2025 Award Winners
This year, schools nominated 680 students to participate in the Achievement Awards in Writing Program. From the United States, students were nominated from 41 states and Washington, D.C. Internationally, teachers nominated students from China, Guatemala, Jordan, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, and Thailand.
*No First Class recipients
North Dakota*
Rhode Island*
South Dakota*
2024 Award Winners
This year, schools nominated 633 students to participate in the Achievement Awards in Writing Program. From the United States, students were nominated from 44 states, as well as Guam and Washington, D.C. Internationally, teachers nominated students from Canada, Greece, Jordan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand.
*No First Class recipients
North Dakota*
Oklahoma*
Oregon*
Rhode Island*
South Carolina*
South Dakota*
2023 Award Winners
This year, schools nominated 360 students to participate in the Achievement Awards in Writing Program. Of those, 114 were selected to receive the First Class designation, 131 received the Superior designation, 71 received the Excellent designation, and 31 received the Merit designation. Papers were judged on content, purpose, audience, tone, word choice, organization, development, and style.
*No First Class recipients
North Dakota*
Rhode Island*
South Carolina*
South Dakota*