4/3/08

25% of Nation's 12th Graders Proficient Writers

This from an article from today's New York Times. It reminded me of the conversation in another discussion about the nation's overall writing ability.

“Overall, American students’ writing skills are deteriorating,” said Will Fitzhugh, the founder of Concord Review, a journal published in Massachusetts that features history research papers written by high school students. He expressed skepticism that the national assessment accurately measured students’ overall writing skills because, he said, it only tests their ability to write very brief essays jotted out in half an hour...Mr. Fitzhugh cited findings of a 2006 survey of college professors, in which a large majority said they thought most high school graduates came to college with limited writing skills.


I'm not familiar with Fitzhugh or the the Concord Review, but this again raises some very important questions. In your opinion, are writing skills deteriorating? In what ways? Is there there is enough (or any)communication between college professors and high school teachers? Between businesses and high school teachers? How can improvement be made?

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