
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 8, 1994                   TAG: 9406080085
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

STUDENTS DON'T HAVE THE WRITE STUFF

The children in Gwen Faulkner's fourth-grade class write all day, every day. That's the way it has to be if students are to move past mediocrity when putting pen to paper, the Education Department said Tuesday.

The 1992 "Writing Report Card," prepared by the department's National Assessment of Educational Progress, found that schools appear to be putting more emphasis on writing, and that most students understand the basics.

But after reviewing writing samples from 30,000 children in grades four, eight and 12, the report concluded, "Many students at each grade level continue to have serious difficulty in producing effective informative, persuasive or narrative writing."

Educators say the ability to write persuasively, to state a case carefully and reason with others, is especially critical if students are to succeed in society.

Faulkner helps her students write short stories, plays, poetry and newsletters in a "safe atmosphere" that allows them to share their work and get feedback from their teacher and classmates.

"They have a love of writing," Faulkner said proudly as she prepared to show off her students' work to Education Secretary Richard Riley.

The report gives educators much of the responsibility for improving writing skills, but it also relies on parents.

"All the reforms and laws that we pass in Washington will not matter a great deal unless parents are parents and give their children a love of learning," Riley said.

The report said eighth-graders spend only two hours a week on writing - including time in the classroom - compared with more than five hours on math. Those same students spend 14 hours a week in front of the television set.

Those who watched six or more hours of television a day had the poorest writing skills, the study said.

The study found that students who did not do their homework had poorer writing skills than those who did at least some of it, and that those who read five or fewer pages daily did not write as well as those who read 11 or more pages a day.

The students were tested on three types of writing: persuasive, exerting an impact on the reader; narrative, telling a story; and informative, explaining specific subject matter.

by CNB