Apr. 7, 2008 Tribune editorial on Utah 8th grade writing scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress writing test

http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_8832163

Reason for concern: Writing test scores in Utah are worrisome
Tribune Editorial
Article Last Updated: 04/07/2008 12:56:38 AM MDT


There has been much public back-slapping among Utah education
officials over the scores achieved by the state's eighth-graders on
the National Assessment of Educational Progress writing test taken
last year.
But let's take a closer look at what those scores actually show
about how well Utah's students can express themselves with pen and
paper.
It's true that the average Utah student score on this test - 152
of a possible 300 - is higher than the average score on the same test
in 1998 and 2002, which was a dismal 143.
Still, the new report indicates that only 31 percent of those
tested are "proficient" or have "solid academic performance" at the
grade level assessed. Fifty-three percent had only "basic" knowledge,
meaning they understand some of what they must know to do grade-level
work, and 16 percent are "below basic," meaning they are writing well
below grade level.
It's worse than that, however. The average score of Latino
students was 28 points below their white classmates, and male students
scored 26 points below the average for females. Average scores of
students from low-income homes were 20 points below their peers.
These alarming gaps did not narrow over the decade since the 1998
test was administered.
The NAEP Web site explains the "proficient" designation: "Students
reaching this level have demonstrated competency over challenging
subject matter, including subject-matter knowledge, application of
such knowledge to real-world situations, and analytical skills."
It seems to us that when 69 percent of Utah's eighth-graders are
not proficient in writing at grade level, the education community
should be looking at ways to improve how writing is taught, especially
to minority, male and low-income students. Instead, some education
officials were celebrating the higher average score and even crediting
students' addiction to text-messaging for the improvement.
"Any writing is better than no writing," one middle school teacher
said. All we can say to that is: Huh?
"Any writing" is hardly what students should be learning, and the
free-form, shorthand, slang-ridden language of text-messaging can only
be considered communication in the loosest sense.
As NAEP states, "To become good writers students need expert
instruction, frequent practice and constructive feedback."
Utah students, whose score of 152 is below the national average of
154, obviously need more of that than they're getting