Every Child a Writer targets (objectives, goals, learner outcomes) are based on the English Language Arts Standards. These standards form a powerful framework of the writing and language skills students should come to master.

Every Child a Writer takes these standards to a much deeper, user-friendly level. For students to learn and teachers to teach, there should be no mystery about what is expected.

The Every Child a Writer Development Team completed a meticulously detailed task analysis of the standards. This allowed for complex goals to be broken into smaller, more manageable skills. It further enables all teachers to demonstrate and model these targets in their daily lessons.

ECAW targets represent all aspects of writing and language including the writing process, graphic organizers for student planning, purpose-based organization, vocabulary development, spelling (encoding), writing conventions, language usage, and grammar.

The Proficiency Validation Plan is a web-based tool used by teachers to monitor and document students' progress in mastery of the ECAW targets.