This study aimed to determine the criteria that can predict developmental changes of elementary school children's composition writing ability. Participants were 21 elementary school teachers and 29 college students. Using the 18 evaluation criteria derived from the Japanese National Standards, participants were asked to evaluate narrative compositions written by children from different grade levels: low grade (grades 1 and 2), middle grade (grades 3 and 4) and high grade (grades 5 and 6). Based on their attitude towards compositions, participants were divided into two groups (low and high attitude groups). The one-way ANOVA was used to determine if evaluation scores of the different grade levels were different. Results showed that in some items, the grade level had a significant effect on the composition scores. Comparing the predictive ability of the criteria, results showed that more evaluation criteria cannot predict the grade level of the child in the teachers group and in the high-attitude group of teachers and students. Findings suggest that the 18 evaluation criteria were not followed as specified in the Japanese National Standards. Personal interpretation of the criteria seems to be an important factor in evaluating children's compositions
