N.J.’s tough new writing tests have students, teachers anxious
Monday June 24, 2013, 12:02 AM
BY LESLIE BRODY
STAFF WRITER
The Record
As they have for generations, high school teachers lament that many teenagers can’t write clearly. College professors say too many freshmen can’t articulate their ideas in lucid prose. And employers say it can be difficult to find job applicants able to draft a professional letter.
But now, alarm over the poor quality of many students’ writing is taking on new force as New Jersey ratchets up its expectations for children in every grade. In less than two years, the state plans to launch more demanding annual exams that, after a transition period, students must pass to graduate.
The challenge ahead is daunting. Consider this excerpt from an essay about John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” by a Bergen County ninth-grader, a native English speaker without special needs: “George had Lennie picture there dream and made him think peaceful. He made Lennie imiginate there house.”
Complicating matters is the concern that some teachers aren’t able to meet the new writing goals that are being set for their students — and so need training themselves, state officials acknowledge.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/hawthorne/NJs_tough_new_writing_tests_have_students_teachers_anxious.html#sthash.ibz7Hr0Z.dpuf
