Abstract
This researcher attempts to develop a way to help students feel more positive about writing and to be able to put aside the testing fears when faced with novel writing tasks. California requires that fourth grade and seventh grade students take a writing exam and it is clear from the results of this test that students struggle to show proficiency. In this fourth grade classroom students were exposed to a month long writing unit, including self-evaluation and goal setting elements, and then data was collected to see the effect on the student's self-efficacy, or belief that they can complete a task No change was noted in the time ii took/or students to begin a writing task, but a positive change occurred in the students ability to stay focused on the task and not stop frequently.