A study of the writing abilities of high school and college students in Florida uncovered specific problem areas in teaching and curriculum design. Recommendations for alleviating writing deficiencies of high school students before they get to the university include a writing training program for prospective and inservice high school teachers, writing coursework as a recertification requirement, a decrease in teaching load for high school English teachers, stricter English admission requirements at the university level, and an equal concentration of school districts' efforts toward the development of both marginal and successful students. Additional recommendations for improving the writing skills of University of Florida students include disallowing College Level Examination Program (CLEP) credit, requiring a placement test of all entering freshmen, testing all students again at the beginning of their junior year with both an objective and an essay exam, requiring satisfactory writing in every discipline in the university, and providing the writing laboratory with additional staffing resources. (A list of the schools visited in the study, a recommended school policy for writing skills, and descriptions of suggested writing tests are appended.) (AEA)