Dee Dee, is that you?
Posted on 02/21/2014 5:24:09 PM PST by Zeneta
Why Can’t College Students Write Anymore?
Is it just me, or are student competencies like basic writing skills in serious peril today? Granted, I am about a decade in to my teaching career, but even within this fairly short span, I have noticed a startling decline in the quality of written work turned in by my students, regardless of which institution (community college, private, four year school) the papers are coming from.
It’s not just that students aren’t demonstrating critical thinking skills in their writing, basic competencies like proper syntax, spelling, and even proper structure like paragraph indentation and how to cite sources are being done very poorly. Teachers have been reporting anecdotally that even compared to five years ago, many are seeing declines in vocabulary, grammar, writing, and analysis (e.g. Westin, 2013; Bloomberg News, 2012). Moreover, on an international scale, our standards in literacy is similarly on the decline (McGuire, 2014).
There are only so many times you can correct a “their” that is meant to denote “there” before wondering, when was the last time this college student’s writing abilities were actually assessed? As a psychology professor, I am starting to feel like an English instructor, because so much of my feedback on these papers is focusing on such basic writing skills, that the coherency or theoretical merit behind the content is getting lost in the shuffle.
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http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-first-impression/201402/why-can-t-college-students-write-anymore
(Excerpt) Read more at psychologytoday.com ...
That could be worsening the situation. But the underlying problem lies in the public education curriculum. Children aren't taught to write anymore (or spell, or proper grammar).
As an adjunct professor at a major North Texas university, I discussed an opening to teach Business Writing 101 with the department head. This was around 1997.
He warned me that it would be a frustrating job and that most of the students couldn't spell, didn't have any idea of proper grammar and had difficulty composing a coherent sentence.
"Good heavens, why?", I asked.
He responded with "Because they were never taught to do any of these things in grade school or high school."
Next, I asked, "What would be a reasonable objective to accomplish over the course of the semester?"
His answer: "If you could get one coherent paragraph out of them, you will have done your job."
I might add that, from that same time as an adjunct, I discovered that the majority of my Junior and Senior level students were absolutely stymied by long division.
My impression was that the kids were generally bright and eager to learn --yet, they had never been taught the basics of reading, writing and 'rithmatic.
Have you read Allan Bloom’s, “The Closing of the American Mind” ?
Closing of the American Mind: How Higher Education Has Failed Democracy and Impoverished the Souls of Today’s Students
http://www.amazon.com/Closing-American-Mind-Education-Impoverished/dp/1451683200
If you demand high standards you will be attacked relentlessly and portrayed as abusive to kids, and possibly a racist. Then you will be fired or voted out.
Today’s publik skul system are teaching students WHAT to think instead of HOW to think and HOW to write.
Affirmed. What is their reading level?
Almost 33% of school teachers seriously considered leaving their jobs because of student misbehavior. Research firm Public Agenda. http://publicagenda.org/
Nearly 80 percent of school teachers said there are serious troublemakers in their schools who should have been kicked out of regular classrooms. Research firm Public Agenda as reported by www.theolympian.com
College professors who train teachers give a low priority to skills like keeping order and training politeness. Research firm Public Agenda
36% of high school students reported having been involved in a physical fight in the last year. http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r2k0609b.htm
21% of high school students said they avoided using places like school rest rooms because of the threat of harm. U.S. Department of Education
2,500 educators (three for every school day) from 2001 through 2005 were punished for sexual misconduct, 80 percent of those being to students. Associated Press investigation http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,303780,00.html
From 1955 to 1991 the U.S. pupil/teacher ratio dropped 40 percent, the average salary of teachers rose 50 percent (in real terms) and the annual expense per pupil, soared 350 percent (inflation adjusted) John Taylor Gatto, Eyeless in Gaza, Intellectual Espionage, p. 3 http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/chapters/3c.htm
Seventeen of the nation's 50 largest cities had high school graduation rates lower than 50 percent, with the lowest graduation rates reported in Detroit, Indianapolis and Cleveland. Approx. 70 percent of U.S. students graduate on time with a regular diploma, but about 1.2 million students drop out annually. America's Promise Alliance, based upon U.S. Department of Education data from 2003-2004. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,344190,00.html
In 1940, teachers listed the following concerns (in order of magnitude) that interfered with a child's education: (a) talking out of turn; (b) chewing gum; (c) making noise; (d) running in the halls; (e) getting out of line; (f) wearing improper clothing and; (g) not putting paper in the wastebasket. Today, teachers rank the following concerns (in order of magnitude) which interfere with a child's education: (a) drug abuse; (b) alcohol abuse; (c) teen pregnancy; (d) suicide; (e) rape; (f) robbery and: (g) assault. William Kilpatrick; “Why Johnny Can't Tell Right from Wrong, pg. 64. (Simon & Schuster, 1992).
A 2009 survey of almost 30,000 high school students nationwide found that 30% admitted to stealing from a store within the past year (19 percent who attend religious schools). 23% said they stole from a parent or relative. More than 83% stated they lied to a parent about something significant. 42 confessed that they sometimes lied to save money (up from 395 in 2006). 64 percent had cheated on a test in the past year (up from 60 percent two years earlier) and 38 percent had cheated more than once. More than 36% had used the Internet to plagiarize. 26% also confessed to lying on at least one survey question. However, 93% agreed, "I am satisfied with my own ethics and character," and 77% affirmed , "When it comes to doing what is right, I am better than most people I know." Josephson Institute http://charactercounts.org/programs/reportcard/
50% of all home schooling parents are born again Christians. Barna Research 2001. http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=103
22 percent of adult Americans are functionally illiterate (they cannot read the front page of a newspaper). The U.S. Department of Education National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS);Kirsch I, et al. Adult Literacy in America: A First Look at the Findings of the National Adult Literacy Survey. Washington, DC. National Center for Education Statistics, US Dept of Education, 1993.
Approximately 50 percent of Americans have reading and computational skills that are inadequate for them to fully function in our modern society. ^ http://www.rmf.harvard.edu/risklibrary/articles/i_health-literacy-incP.asp
47 percent of Americans could not understand written directions to take medicine on an empty stomach, and 60 percent did not understand the standard consent form. Williams MV, et al. Inadequate functional health literacy among patients at two public hospitals. Journal of the American Medical Association. 1995; 274:1677–82.
Only 31 percent of fourth graders read at or above grade level. http://www.childrensdefense.org/pressreleases/040713.asp
Seven out of ten fourth graders cannot read or do math at grade level. http://www.childrensdefense.org/pressreleases/040713.asp
According to the 2000 NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) assessments, only 32 percent of 4th graders are proficient in reading, while just 26 percent are proficient in mathematics, 29 percent in science, and 18 percent in history. By the 12th grade proficiency rates decline in most subjects. Over half of all poor students fail to reach the basic level on NAEP assessments in most subjects. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/sitemap.asp.
Between 1963 and 1980 national SAT composite scores fell 90 points. College Board Annual SAT Score Reports. 19631980.
Since 1972 to 1994, the percentage of U.S. students scoring above 600 on SAT tests declined 37 percent, and the percentage of those who scored 750 tests fell 50 percent. John Taylor Gatto, Eyeless in Gaza, Intellectual Espionage, p. 3 http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/chapters/3c.htm
The high school class of 2006 recorded the sharpest drop in SAT scores in 31 years. Associated Press.
Nearly 60 percent of high-school seniors lack even a basic knowledge of U.S. History. 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey tests
The national graduation rate is 68 percent, with nearly one-third of all public high school students failing to graduate (2001). http://www.urban.org/publications/410934.htm
The 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey tests show that only about 56% of the blacks and 83% of the whites over sixteen are literate. [55] Scores on 1994 NAEP reading tests indicate that 42% of the 4th graders can't read; 72% of the 8th graders can't read 8th grade assignments; and 66% of the nation's high school seniors can't read 9th grade textbooks in any core subject. USDE. 1994. NAEP Reading: A First Look. p. 18.
In a nationwide study conducted by Dr. Brian D. Ray of the National Home Education Research Institute, Homeschoolers were found to have scored 34-39 percentile points higher than the norm on standardized achievement tests. http://www.christianpost.com/article/20090811/study-homeschoolers-scoring-well-above-public-school-peers/index.html
The average ACT (American College Testing) score of homeschooled students in 2009 was higher than the national average. http://www.christianpost.com/article/20090827/avg-act-score-of-homeschoolers-beats-nat-l-avg/index.html
In 1940, fewer than 5 percent of Americans had a college degree. Starting with the GI Bill in 1944, governments at all levels promoted college. From 1947 to 1980, enrollments jumped from 2.3 million to 12.1 million. In the 1940s, private colleges and universities accounted for about half. By the 1980s, state schools - offering heavily subsidized tuitions - represented nearly four-fifths. At last count, roughly 40 percent of Americans had some sort of college degree: about 30 percent a bachelor's degree from a four-year institution; the rest associate degrees from community colleges. http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/05/29/lets_drop_the_college-for-everyone_crusade_99690.html
Since 1961, the time students spend reading, writing and otherwise studying has fallen from 24 hours a week to about 15. http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/is-college-too-easy-as-study-time-falls-debate-rises/2012/05/21/gIQAp7uUgU_print.html
After two years of college, 45 percent of college students hadn't significantly improved their critical thinking and writing skills; after four years, the proportion was still 36 percent. The study was based on a test taken by 2,400 students at 24 schools. "Academically Adrift," by sociologists Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa; http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/05/29/lets_drop_the_college-for-everyone_crusade_99690.html
Over 50 percent of students at four-year schools and more than 75 percent at two-year colleges lacked the skills to perform complex literacy tasks (unable to interpret a table about exercise and blood pressure, comprehend arguments of newspaper editorials, compare credit card offers with different interest rates and annual fees, or summarize results of a survey about parental involvement in school). American Institutes for Research Ben Feller, Associated Press | January 20, 2006
States appropriated almost $6.2 billion for four-year colleges and universities between 2003 and 2008 to help pay for the education of students who did not return for their second year, while the federal government spent $1.5 billion and states spent $1.4 billion on grants for such students. "Finishing the First Lap: The Cost of First-Year Student Attrition in America's Four-Year Colleges and Universities." reported by AP, “Report: College dropouts cost taxpayers billions,” October 11, 2010
More than 25% of low-income first-generation college students leave after their first year, and 89 percent fail to graduate within six years. Time Magazine, What We Can Learn from First-Generation College Students, April 11, 2012
Almost 80% of seniors at 55 of our best colleges and universities earned a D or F grade on a high-school level American history test a 1999 survey showed. USDE 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey tests http://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/magazines/2000-11/cohen.html
The National Center for Education Statistics reports that only 31% of college graduates can read and understand a complex book. Walter E. Williams , professor of economics at George Mason University. http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=336612797889002
Nearly half (47 percent) of college freshmen enrolled in 2005 had earned an average grade of A in high school, compared to 2-in-10 (20 percent) in 1970. The majority (79 percent) of freshmen in 1970 had an important personal objective of “developing a meaningful philosophy of life.” By 2005, the majority of freshmen (75 percent) said their primary objective was “being very well off financially.” Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2007, (Table 274). http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/miscellaneous/007871.html
Enrollment has increased 70.6 percent since 1990, from 135,000 to 230,000, at the 102 Evangelical schools belonging to the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities. Higher Education Research Institute at the UCLA; USA Today Dec. 14, 2005 .
During the same period, enrollments at public colleges increased by 12.8 percent, and at private colleges the increase was 28 percent. USA Today Dec. 14. 2005 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=22361
62% more students are going to college than did in the 1960s". Bill Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions at Harvard.
Nearly 40 percent (approx. 11.5 million) of the nation’s 18 to 24 year olds were enrolled in two- or four-year colleges as of October 2008. U.S. Census figures released by the Pew Research Center, Nov. 2009
The District of Columbia leads the nation in the proportion of college grads. http://www.epodunk.com/top10/collegeDiploma/index.html
Tuitions and fees have risen more than 440 percent in 30 years. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/george-will-subprime-college-educations/2012/06/08/gJQA4fGiOV_print.html
On a typical campus, per capita students spending for alcohol--$446 per student--far exceeds the per capita budget of the college library. (Eigen, 1991 in the 1998 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse).
College students spend over $5.5 billion a year on alcoholic beverages (mostly beer)--more than they spend on all other drinks [soda, tea, milk, juice and coffee] and books combined. Sidney Ribeau, PresidentBowling Green State University http://www.collegevalues.org/diaries.cfm?id=476&a=1. See also www.hsph.harvard.edu/cas/rpt1998/CAS1998rpt2.html [which is also a illustration of how to do a survey.]
A (disputed) study showed that 50% of American college faculty identified themselves as Democrats and only 11% as Republicans (with 33% being Independent, and 5% identifying themselves with another party). 72% described themselves as "to the left of center," including 18% who were strongly left. Only 15% described themselves as right of center, including only 3% who were "strongly right." North American Academic Study Survey (NAASS) of students, faculty and administrators at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada 1999. The Berkeley Electronic Press http://montages.blogspot.com/2005/04/conservatives-underrepresented-in.html http://www.bepress.com/forum/vol3/iss1/art2 http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/17963/liberal_bias_in_our_schools.html
A survey of 6,000 academic psychologists resulted in 10% reporting they had falsified research data; 67 per cent selectively reported studies that “worked”; 35% said they had doubts about the integrity of their own research. Leslie John, George Loewentstein, and Drazen Prelec in Psychological Science, December 2011
More .
That is much different now. See stats above.
He's running again.
The author is right, but you know what I notice?
Conservatives are generally older, and seasoned Conservatives PUSH YOUNG PEOPLE AWAY, very, very sharply:
Yes, the focus here is on the terrible writing habits of young people. I understand that. But honestly, I really think when we see these huge, pessimistic gripe sessions it’s a form of indulgence that does not serve conservativism well at all:
Libs scoop up these deluded young people, give them a home and thereby enjoy the service of rank-and-file ground troops for DECADES.
I really don’t think young people abhor the underlying ideas of small government at all, but the only friendly ideological leaders young people are exposed to are in movies and school, and both of those are very strongly dominated by Destroyers of Culture.
They finally get a little contact with people who could genuinely HELP them, and they get haranguing and the stiff-arm.
I think the only outreach I see to the young are at Church and in Rush’s new books.
That’s it.
Correct them, but don’t harangue or alienate —IF you really want to help the country.
Yeah I follow him on twitter. He’s a Cruz-er.
That may be more or less true, but as a mediocre H.S. graduate myself, I believe they should be able to write sufficiently well regardless. And as another poster expressed, doing a lot of reading is key. Find out what the reading level is and you will likely see a correspondence.
They are not bright and eager to learn, or at least many of their peers are not. You can’t get anything done when there is mass disruption all the time yet you are told ‘keep kids in the classroom’ even after a gang bang.
College profs really need to get to the high schools if they think it is so easy. And then try middle school. Most of them wouldn’t last a week.
You can probably read and write in cursive too sir.
Show off.
Dee Dee, is that you?
“I suggest you take 13 minutes out of your life to gain a better understanding of our enemy.
No Science, No Logic and No Morality: Atheism”
I am not sure where this is coming from. Not a lot of argument here, but many of the Greek and Roman scholars were atheists and they wrote rather well (it has lasted nearly 2000 years). Moreover, faith is no guarantee of literacy.
My cursive writing.... I can do calligraphy because that is art, but dashing off a quick note looks like chickens stepped in ink and fornicated on paper.
/johnny
Back in the Dark Ages, a classmate asked if the two page assignment meant front and back. You get one guess how many pages we had to write after that idiotic question.
Colleges and universities largely became the seminaries of the new cultural "religion" and its ethos.[57] Revised standard studies and new courses, such as gay studies, became part of the new orthodoxy, with a later neglect of core subjects.[58] . Relative few teaching posts became staffed by conservatives.[59][60][61] While early attempts by students to gain positions of administrative power in their institutions had only limited success, its graduates would soon fill positions of power in informational, educational, and governmental agencies, and as by a Fabian strategy achieve its victories.
In a Harvard Crimson article, noted conservative Harvard professor Harvey Mansfield contended that "Grade inflation got started … when professors raised the grades of students protesting the war in Vietnam..." "At that time, too, white professors, imbibing the spirit of the new policies of affirmative action, stopped giving low grades to black students, and to justify or conceal this, also stopped giving low grades to white students." The problem was essentially seen as the predominance of the notion of self-esteem, "in which the purpose of education is to make students feel capable and 'empowered,' and professors should hesitate to pass judgment on what students have learned." Such assertions resulted in no small controversy. [18 ]
Harvard alumnus and author Ross Douthat attributed this problem partly to socioeconomic differences, and noted that "Harvard students are creatively lazy, gifted at working smarter rather than harder", being brilliant largely in their tactics "to achieve a maximal GPA in return for minimal effort." Few people who have taught at Harvard agree with Douthat's notions.
Writing is “thinking” on paper; if one has no real thoughts, he is unlikely to be able to fill up a readable page. And most of the American people can’t write much more than a grocery list.
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