Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 10, 1990 TAG: 9007100272
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Of 70,000 sixth-graders who took the standardized test in February, more than 16,000 pupils flunked the essay section.
Those who failed the writing sample made up two-thirds of all students who flunked any of the Literacy Passport's three sections. Failure rates were much lower on the reading and math exams, both of which were multiple-choice tests.
Moreover, educators say, many strong schools and fine students had trouble with the writing sample.
Most standardized tests of verbal skills ask students to find grammatical errors, but don't measure whether a student can write, said Judith Self, an English teacher who helped develop the new test.
"The writing is the story," said Robert A. Cowden, who oversees testing for the Chesapeake schools. "We're disappointed we didn't do better, and that's where a lot of effort's going to be expended. . . . Our people are going to be doing a lot of intense work on paragraph writing."
Schools with disappointing pass rates may have been teaching grammar, syntax and spelling but not requiring students to actually write enough, state and local school officials theorize.
State officials caution that low scores don't necessarily signal too little emphasis on writing.
Students may have been unprepared for the essay format, which they had never encountered on a standardized test. With a minimum of preparation next year, pass rates will rise, educators say.
But some have misgivings about the writing test's lone question, which told students to "write about something you wish you had," but gave little other guidance.
"It may have been a curveball for many students," said Henrico Superintendent William Bosher Jr. Students accustomed to writing research papers might have been thrown off track by such an open-ended, personal question.
by CNB