About the National Commission on Writing

LINK

In an effort to focus national attention on the teaching and learning of writing, the College Board established the National Commission on Writing for America's Families, Schools, and Colleges in September 2002. The decision to create the Commission was animated in part by the Board's plans to offer a writing assessment in 2005 as part of the new SAT®, but the larger motivation lay in the growing concern within the education, business, and policy-making communities that the level of writing in the United States is not what it should be. Although there is much good work taking place in our classrooms, the quality of writing must be improved if students are to succeed in college and in life. The addition of a writing component to the SAT and the establishment of a writing commission respond directly to that concern. We hope that the work of this Commission and the agenda it lays out will help create a writing revolution in the United States.

State Report Puts High Premium on Writing Skills

Still, report echoes concerns from the private sector; states spend $221 million annually to improve writing among employees

NEW YORK (July 5, 2005)-Despite the high value that state employers put on writing skills, a significant number of their employees do not meet states' expectations. Providing writing training costs taxpayers nearly a quarter of a billion dollars annually, according to an estimate based on a survey released here today by the National Commission on Writing.

The report, Writing: A Powerful Message from State Government (.pdf/535K), concludes that writing is considered an even more important job requirement for the states' nearly 2.7 million employees than it is for the private-sector employees studied in the Commission's previous survey of leading U.S. businesses. State agencies were more likely to consider writing skills in hiring and promotion, and to require writing samples from applicants. The report was issued today by the National Commission on Writing for America's Families, Schools, and Colleges, based on a National Governors Association survey of state human resources directors. Forty-nine of 50 state human resources offices responded to the survey.

"Clear communication is an essential government function in a democratic society," said Bob Kerrey, president of New School University in New York, former governor and senator from Nebraska, and chair of the Commission. "Because writing is how agencies communicate with each other and their constituents, all of us have a stake in the clarity and accuracy of government writing," he said.

The report follows a similar analysis of writing in corporate America released last year by the Commission, which found that while advanced technology in the workplace is requiring employees to write more than ever, many college graduates don't have the writing skills they need. Writing: A Ticket to Work . . . Or a Ticket Out (September 2004) surveyed members of the Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers from U.S. corporations.

According to Writing: A Powerful Message from State Government:

More than two-thirds of professional state employees have some responsibility for writing, as do 60 percent of clerical employees. "Is writing an important skill in government?" asked one respondent. "Of course. If there are tax policy directives or guidelines that the filers don't quite get-and the tax staff don't get right either-that creates a financial mess."
More than 75 percent of respondents report taking writing into account in hiring and promoting state employees. "I'd say there's a premium placed on well-developed writing skills," said one human resources director.
Ninety-one percent of the states that "almost always" take writing into account when hiring report that they also require writing samples from applicants for professional positions. "Oral and writing skills are absolutely essential in a service- and knowledge-based economy. This is a very different economy from one based on agriculture or industry," noted a respondent.
Poorly written application materials are likely to doom the job-seeker's chances of state employment. More than 80 percent of respondents agree that poorly written applications count against professional applicants. "Managers notice written submissions around the application process," commented one.
More than two-thirds of responding officials say they routinely offer writing training for professional employees with deficient skills. "We might have up to 300 employees each year [both professional and clerical] with some need for training in writing and composition," reported one personnel director.
Approximately one-third of respondents indicate that, at most, one-third of professional employees possess the writing skills valued in government.
States that report placing a higher value on writing are also more likely to report that a larger percentage of their professional employees have the writing skills they need. However, based on survey responses, the Commission estimates that providing writing training for those employees who do not meet state standards costs state agencies about $221 million annually. The human resources directors surveyed in the report oversee civil servants working in state agencies, a group roughly equal in number to employees of the federal government, the two largest public workforces after local government. The report does not include the close to two million other state employees who work in state hospitals and educational institutions because they are hired and supervised locally.

Survey responses also revealed officials' concern that widespread use of e-mail encourages miscommunication. "The sender is composing on the spot. You might do a spell-check, but you can't do a 'thought-check,'" noted one official. "It's like blurting out something without thinking it through."

Despite generally high levels of education among public employees, many state respondents expressed concerns about their employees' writing skills. One official noted, "In our state, 99 percent of state employees have completed high school . . . 54 percent [have] a bachelor's degree or beyond. This compares to the state's general workforce where just 84 percent of workers have completed high school and 22 percent have bachelor's degrees or beyond." On paper, state employees are highly qualified.

"This survey confirms what governors and educators already know: strong writing skills, and the critical thinking skills associated with the ability to write well, are important prerequisites for success in college and work," said Virginia Governor Mark Warner. "The next generation of workers needs strong communication skills to compete for the best jobs in a global economy."

Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee said: "The high value that states put on writing is commendable and appropriate. From the Department of Education to emergency management to family and child services, civil servants need to express themselves precisely and humanely in order to meet the needs of their fellow citizens."

The National Commission on Writing for America's Families, Schools, and Colleges is a blue-ribbon group of leaders from public schools, higher education, and the business and writing communities, founded by the College Board. Commission members are committed to doubling the amount of time students in American schools and colleges spend writing.

"In the end, communication is what makes government work," said Commission member Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board and former governor of West Virginia. "That's why it's important for schools and colleges to ensure that all graduates learn how to communicate clearly and concisely on paper."

Download A Powerful Message from State Government (.pdf/535K)
Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader (latest version recommended).

Contact

Chiara Coletti, The College Board, (212) 713-8052
Sandra Riley, The College Board, (212) 713-8052

and, also on the same issue:

National Commission Calls for a Writing Revolution
Panel Says Most American Students Must Improve Writing to Meet Demands of College Success and Career
Former Senator Bob Kerrey Named to Lead 5-Year Writing Challenge

LINK

The Neglected "R": The Need For a Writing Revolution

Chicago, April 25, 2003--The amount of time and money devoted to student writing must be dramatically increased in school districts throughout the country, and state and local curriculum guidelines must require writing in every curriculum at all grade levels. Educators also must engage the private sector in developing ways to apply technology to the teaching and assessment of writing. These are among the key recommendations included in The Neglected "R": The Need for a Writing Revolution.

The report was produced by the National Commission on Writing in America's Families, Schools, and Colleges, a blue-ribbon group made up of university leaders, public school superintendents, and teachers, and assisted by an advisory panel of writing experts. The new report also calls for the immediate launch of an implementation campaign, the Writing Challenge to the Nation. College Board President Gaston Caperton announced today that this Writing Challenge will be led by former Senator Bob Kerrey, current president of New School University in New York City, former governor of Nebraska, and accomplished author.

In agreeing to accept this challenge, Bob Kerrey said, "I have agreed to accept the honor and responsibility of leading this effort because of the value I place on writing. From poetry to letters to stories to laws, we must learn to write in order to participate in the range of experiences available to us as human beings. Our spiritual lives, our economic success, and our social networks are all directly affected by our willingness to do the work necessary to acquire the skill of writing. In a very real way neither our democracy nor our personal freedoms will survive unless we as citizens take the time and make the effort needed to learn how to write."

Writing Is an Essential Skill

The report stresses that writing is essential to educational and career success. Writing allows students to "connect the dots" in their knowledge and is central to self-expression and civic participation. The report says, "Students must struggle with the details, wrestle with the facts, and rework raw information and dimly understood concepts into language they can communicate to someone else. In short, they must write." Yet, The Neglected "R" argues that writing has been shortchanged in the school reform movement launched 20 years ago this week with the release of A Nation at Risk. Despite the best efforts of many educators, writing has not received the full attention it deserves. Writing must now be put squarely at the center of the school agenda.

In releasing the report, Commission Chair C. Peter Magrath, president of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, said, "Writing must be an important focus beginning in elementary school. The writing weaknesses of incoming college students cost our campuses up to $1 billion annually. And business leaders complain about the writing skills of new employees."

Writing: The Current State

The Neglected "R" makes these important points about the current state of writing:

most fourth-grade students spend less than three hours a week writing, which is approximately 15 percent of the time they spend watching television;
nearly 66 percent of high school seniors do not write a three-page paper as often as once a month for their English teachers;
75 percent of seniors never receive a writing assignment in history or social studies; and
the senior research project has become an educational curiosity, something rarely assigned because teachers do not have time to correct such projects.

Citing NAEP research, the report says that at grades 4, 8, and 12, about one student in five produces completely unsatisfactory prose, about 50 percent meet "basic" requirements, and only one in five can be called "proficient."

According to the report, recent analyses indicate that by the first year of college, more than 50 percent of the freshman class are unable to produce papers relatively free of language errors or to analyze arguments or synthesize information. The report notes that "complaints about the inadequacy of undergraduate writing programs and problems associated with leaving the teaching of writing to inexperienced graduate students have gathered dust on shelves for decades."

Toward a Writing Revolution

To respond, the Commission calls for a writing revolution, building on work that is already in progress. It recommends that governors and legislators incorporate writing into state school standards, with an eye to doubling the amount of time and increasing the financial resources devoted to writing. "Writing will not be improved on the cheap or by hectoring teachers," the Commission states.

"Very few things are more important to improving student achievement than restoring writing to its proper place in the classroom," said Commission Vice-Chair Arlene Ackerman, San Francisco superintendent of schools. "Writing is how we can teach students complex skills of synthesis, analysis, and problem solving. These skills will serve them well throughout life."

The Commission also asks legislators and policymakers to work together to create a National Conference on Literacy and Writing. "Nothing can alert the general public to the significance of this issue more quickly and powerfully than what President Theodore Roosevelt once called the 'bully pulpit,'" the report notes.

To help alleviate the lack of time confronting teachers, the Commission recommends that federal telecommunications policy "be extended to cover financing the hardware and software required in schools and colleges (and training for faculty and teachers)" and that a major research effort be launched to apply new and developing technologies to improving writing. The report states that exploration should include "the use of emerging programs to enhance the ability of students and teachers to assess writing samples; and the development of software to measure student writing competence in formal standardized assessments."

Writing Is Everybody's Business

Another recommendation calls for major efforts to improve teacher training in all disciplines. "Writing is everybody's business," says the report, calling on teachers in history, social studies, science, and mathematics to add writing to their instruction.

Finally, the report calls for a new commitment to measuring writing quality, insisting that assessment composed only of multiple-choice tests is not adequate to this "demanding task." The report states, "An authentic assessment of writing depends on requiring the student to produce a piece of prose that someone reads and evaluates."

The Writing Challenge to the Nation, also proposed in the report, is a five-year effort to be led by Bob Kerrey and supported by American philanthropy. "The Commission hoped to highlight the significance of writing in society and point people in the right direction," said Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board and an ex officio member of the Commission. "The Writing Challenge to the Nation will translate the recommendations of the Commission into tangible steps to improve writing," said Caperton. "Building a widespread, sustainable program is what the next five years will be all about."

Copies of the report are available online or by calling (212) 713-8240 and requesting item number 997548.

Writing: A Ticket To Work or a Ticket Out

Encourage Writing
Welcome parents, educators, and writers of all ages!

LINK

LINK

California Writing Project

Learning to write well is one of the most challenging tasks for anyone, regardless of age. It takes time, practice, and lots of encouragement. Parents and teachers can help children develop their skills and, equally important, a love for words and writing.

Located in universities across the country, National Writing Project (NWP) sites work with teachers to improve writing instruction in America's schools. Many NWP sites offer special writing programs for children. Typically, these programs combine motivational and skill-building activities, peer group interaction, and publishing opportunities. To find a writing project site near you, please check our map of sites.

Writing in Schools Is Found Both Dismal and Neglected
By TAMAR LEWIN (NYT) 1100 words
Published: April 26, 2003

Most fourth graders spend less than three hours a week writing, which is about 15 percent of the time they spend watching television. Seventy-five percent of high school seniors never get a writing assignment from their history or social studies teachers.
And in most high schools, the extended research paper, once a senior-year rite of passage, has been abandoned because teachers do not have time to grade it anymore.

Those are among the findings of a report issued yesterday by the National Commission on Writing in America's Schools and Colleges, an 18-member panel of educators organized by the College Board.

The commission's report asserts that writing is among the most important skills students can learn, that it is the mechanism through which they learn to connect the dots in their knowledge -- and that it is now woefully ignored in most American schools.

''Writing, always time-consuming for student and teacher, is today hard-pressed in the American classroom,'' the report said. ''Of the three R's, writing is clearly the most neglected.''

The panel, led by C. Peter Magrath, president of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, is recommending that the amount of time students spend on writing be doubled, that writing be taught in all subjects and at all grade levels and that every school district adopt a writing plan.

''If students are to make knowledge their own, they must struggle with the details, wrestle with the facts and rework raw information and dimly understood concepts into language they can communicate to someone else,'' the report said. ''In short, if students are to learn, they must write.''

In two decades of education reform, the teaching of reading and arithmetic has come under intense scrutiny, with increased state regulation and a host of new assessment tests.

But until recently the teaching of writing has been largely overlooked. That seems to be changing now. With everyone from employers to college professors expressing alarm about the dismal writing skills of most American students, there is a new urgency, and new energy, to upgrade the teaching of writing.

Both of the major college-entrance exams, the SAT and the ACT, are being revised to include writing tests, and last year the College Board, which administers the SAT, created the National Commission on Writing to study the issue.

The panel found that only about half of the nation's 12th graders report being regularly assigned papers of three or more pages in English class; about 4 in 10 say they never, or hardly ever, get such assignments. Part of the problem is that many high school teachers have 120 to 200 students, and so reading and grading even a weekly one-page paper per student would be a substantial task.

On the National Assessment of Educational Progress exam, only about one in four students in Grades 4, 8 or 12 scored at the proficient level in writing in 1998, the most recent such results available. And only one in a hundred was graded ''advanced.''

Further, a 2002 study of California college students found that most freshmen could not analyze arguments, synthesize information or write papers that were reasonably free of language errors.

There are some encouraging signs, though, among them the growth of the National Writing Project, a professional-development effort that began at the University of California at Berkeley almost 30 years ago and has expanded to 175 sites nationwide, where teacher networks are fostered at five-week summer sessions on writing.

The commission's report is to be followed by a five-year campaign to fulfill its recommendations. That campaign, called ''A Writing Challenge to the Nation,'' will be led by former Senator Bob Kerrey, president of the New School University.

''Our spiritual lives, our economic success and our social networks,'' Mr. Kerrey said, ''are all directly affected by our willingness to do the work necessary to acquire the skill of writing.''

Just how much national will exists to do that work remains the crucial question, educators and policy experts agree.

''This report is a great beginning,'' said the executive director of the National Writing Project, Richard Sterling, chairman of the commission's advisory board. ''If this is the trigger that allows us to step up to the kind of interest there has been around reading and math, it will make a big difference in children's education.

''But the commission could sink without a trace unless we go forth and say: How does it actually happen? How do we get the recommendations into policy? How do we get enough professional development for teachers? How do we recognize the excellent work that's going on?''

Chart: ''SAMPLES: Writing Acumen''
On a National Assessment of Educational Progress exam, 11th graders were given basic information about a haunted house, Appleby, and asked to write about it. The following are three representative, unedited responses:

48% of respondents were graded unsatisfactory. A sample follows.

The house with no windows. This is a house with dead-end hallways, 36 rooms and stairs leading to the cieling. Doorways nowhere and all this to confuse ghosts.
50% of respondents were graded adequate. A sample follows.

Man builds strange house to scare ghosts. He says that he did it to confuse the ghosts. But why may we ask would he want to spend 10 years building a house. For instance there are stairs that go nowhere and hallways that go nowhere. This house has 36 rooms. If you ask me I think its kind of strange.

2% of respondents were graded proficient. A sample follows.

Years of rumors and unsubstantiated reports have created, in a quiet urban neighborhood, a house of horrors. The dwelling is one Appleby House, a modest dwelling of 36 rooms built over an 8 year period. On interviewing neighbors, who dubbed the owner ''strange,'' one finds that 10 carpenters have been employed to build such oddities as stairways to ceilings, windows on blank walls, and doorways going nowhere. According to reports, these bizarre customizings are intended to confuse ghosts. Maybe the owner will report one day that he has caught one in a dead end hallway! Until then, however, the mystery of the building of Appleby House remains just that a mystery.

Source: Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education

The National Commission on Writing

Writing: A Powerful Message