Writing with Proficiency --30% Success Is Welcomed!!!
If you were buying a car and found one that had a 70% chance of ranging from fair to downright bad, you would almost certainly turn away. But that level of performance is being welcomed by officials when it comes to the writing skills of American students.
According to a new national study, about a third of the nation’s eighth-grade students are proficient writers. The results are even worse for high school seniors where only roughly a quarter achieve this level. The results are about the same as those in 2002, when a similar exam was last given.
A success rate of 30% may not sound like much--and indeed, it isn't. But it is the best performance by eighth-grade students in any subject tested in the national assessment in the last three years. For example, only 17 percent of eighth graders were proficient on the 2006 history exam, for example.
That is why officials such as Michael Casserly say they are "pleased and encouraged" with the findings. He is the executive director of the Council of the Great City Schools, which represents the nation’s 60 largest urban districts. Some states, of course, did better than others. The top performers were New Jersey, where 56 percent of students scored at or above proficiency levels, and Connecticut, where the number was 53 percent. And as in the past, girls outperformed boys so that at eighth grade 41 percent of them achieved proficiency, compared with 20 percent of boys.
As with so many issues, there are those who are ready and willing to put their efforts into activities akin to re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. For example, some experts question whether the writing test, which requires students to compose only brief essays in a short time, is an accurate measure of their ability. But, for those who are willing to venture into the real world, the problems are clear. For example, a survey of 120 corporations conducted by the College Board in 2003, concluded that a third of employees in the nation’s blue-chip companies, including many recent college graduates, wrote poorly. Keep in mind, that these are "the best and the brightest."
So once again, our students are being short-changed by a system that leaves them without the skills needed for the modern competitive world.
What is a parent to do? Waiting (and hoping) that the system will change is not an answer. Fortunately, for those who are willing and able to make the time, there are pathways to follow. One activity for children who are in fourth grade or higher is the following. Take an article from a reasonably well-written newspaper or magazine. Of course, the level should be one that is appropriate for your youngster. The article should be on a topic that relates to "school type subjects" such as government, health, science, and so on. Have your child read a paragraph. Answer any questions and give any help that is needed. Then put the article aside and, either via paper and pencil or on the computer, have your child re-construct the paragraph.
It will take time to see the effects of this work. At first, your child is likely to feel overwhelmed and keep turning back to the article. There are also likely to be complaints about "how boring" the work is. But writing, like all diligence- based activities, involves a level of attention that children in the modern, glitzy, high-tech reject as boring.
At the same time, "being bored" is often a cover for "being unable." A good paragraph has three to four major points. Without training, it is difficult for novices to "take in" and then reformulate those points. But if you willing to persist by regularly doing this activity twice a week throughout the school year, you are almost certain to see steady growth.
