Project Title:
Bridging the Gap: Identifying and Supporting College-Ready Writing Skills Among High School Students
Project Director and Other Associated Faculty and Staff:
Paul Carney, Instructor of English, Minnesota State Community & Technical College-Fergus Falls, Contact: paul.carney@minnesota.edu, Telephone: (218)739-7554
Wes Lundburg, Dean, MSCTC-Fergus Fall, Contact: wes.lundburg@minnesota.edu, Tel.: (218)739-7480
Project Design:
Due to the high level of entering college students who require remedial writing courses, there is a need for improved communication between secondary education and college English instructors to identify the requisite competencies needed of college bound high school students. The project will create “writing webs” involving high school and college English instructors to clarify writing standards in secondary schools and colleges and promote a dialog among instructors.
Project Evaluation and Outcomes:
During the 2004-05 year, 8 college instructors (from community and technical college) and six high school teachers participated in an ongoing dialog to align high school exit competencies with college entrance requirements. The project goals were to design a college-readiness rubric that could serve as a diagnostic tool at the secondary level. In spring 2004, two regional webs were established where each site linked one college with two high schools. Students and teachers from rural and metro high schools participated whereby during one week 191 students composed essays similar to new SAT writing requirement. Throughout the 2004-05 academic year 3 meetings were held among the instructors and they discovered that of the 191 completed essays only 36 were rated as college ready. The essays were then returned to the students who were asked to self-assess. The project culminated at a conference of the Minnesota Council of Teachers of English in April 2004 where a panel discussed the results of the project and the weaknesses that were implied and recommendations for improving instruction.
Lessons Learned, Dissemination and Sustainability
The Project Director has made presentations of findings before local school boards and curriculum committees. As a result, in May, 2005, the Project Director received the following email from the Alice Seagren, Commissioner of the Minnesota Dept. of Education: “Thank you for sending me your report. . . I have forwarded it to the Assistant Commissioner that oversees our standards, including writing. We are also working with the P-16 council on a number of issues, including remediation, higher rigor for high school students and transition from high school to college. Your work will add valuable information to the areas we are focusing on.” The Project Director made a presentation at CTL’s 2005 Realizing Student Potential conference.
