Writing, which has long taken a back seat to reading and math in Chicago’s public schools, could soon become an integral part of student promotion decisions.
District officials are working on a plan that would require students in certain grades to pass a writing exam before moving to the next grade. Currently, 3rd, 6th and 8th graders must pass the state reading and math exams for promotion.
Under the proposal, presented during a school board meeting Wednesday, the writing requirement would take effect in the 2007-08 school year.
“We know there is a direct correlation between reading and writing and we know that, if our students are strong writers in elementary school, they will do much better in high school,” said Barbara Eason-Watkins, chief education officer of Chicago Public Schools. “We think writing is critical and we think it should be considered when making promotion decisions.”
Watkins said district officials will spend the next few months considering at which grade levels to test for writing, and which test will be used.
The proposal follows a state and national trend to focus more attention on writing, which many call the “forgotten R.” (Reading and arithmetic are the other two.)
Under the No Child Left Behind federal law, many schools, especially those in low-income communities, have focused most of the instruction time on reading and math–the two subjects where the law requires student testing. As a result, critics contend, writing has been downplayed.
But in the last few years, the tide has been turning.
The SAT college entrance exam, for example, included a writing section for the first time last year, and the ACT exam now has an optional writing section.
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Illinois lawmakers resurrected the state writing exam this year, after wiping it out two years ago during budget cuts. This school year, pupils in 5th and 8th grade will take a state writing exam. Eleventh graders will take a writing exam as part of the ACT. (Illinois mandates that every high school junior take the college entrance exam.)
By 2009, the state’s 3rd and 6th graders also will take a writing exam.
“I think there is the beginning of a movement to bring writing back, and it’s long overdue,” said Richard Sterling, executive director of the National Writing Project, an effort to improve youngsters’ writing skills. “I’m pleased to hear that Chicago wants to focus more attention on writing, but it depends on how it is done.”
Sterling said that simply adding a new test as a promotion standard would not ensure students become critical thinkers and high-quality writers.
“The key will lie in the quality of the writing instruction,” he said. “You learn to write by writing, so unless students have a whole lot of practice and some good instruction, they will not be successful.”
Eason-Watkins said that the final proposal would include plans to improve writing instruction and boost professional development for teachers.
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