Assessing Student Written Communications Skills: A Gateway Writing Proficiency Test for Aspiring Journalism Majors

by Mary K. Brocato , Paula F. Furr , Martha V. Henderson , Steven G. Horton
Faculty at this rural open-admissions university became increasingly concerned each semester about the inability of many journalism majors to write competently. This poor writing was evident in correctness, content, and coherence. Determined to take positive steps to improve students' writing skills, the journalism faculty in 2001 developed a Language Skills Diagnostic Test (LSDT) as a prerequisite for admission to the gateway media writing course. In addition, a course focused on basic writing skills for journalists was designed for students who failed the diagnostic test and for any students with weak writing skills as assessed by English placement tests and the ACT Assessment. To date, 175 students have taken the LSDT, and 51 students have taken the writing skills course. This preliminary study tracks the effect of the LSDT and the writing course on improving writing skills of students as evidenced by their progress in the gateway media writing course. Despite limited initial data, findings suggest that students who failed the LSDT and took the basic writing skills course have, indeed, improved their writing skills and are successfully completing the gateway media writing course.
Introduction
Admission criteria for journalism and mass communications programs vary, ranging from a GPA requirement, to satisfactory completion of an introductory course, to use of language skills examinations. Concerns about admission requirements surfaced in the mid-1970s when enrollment growth began to exceed program resources and was accompanied by a decline in scores on national standardized college entrance tests, especially in verbal scores reflecting writing achievement.
Results of a 2003 ACT National Curriculum Survey of high school and college instructors found that while college instructors believe grammar and usage skills are important skills for entering college students, high school teachers ranked these skills as least important. However, writing for the National Review Online, Ridgley (2003) laid the blame for declining writing skills on universities that fail to teach writing basics and place a misdirected focus on "strange literary theories." Ridgley, a former executive director of the Collegiate Network, a national association of college newspapers, and a Duke University instructor, lamented that too many college students graduate "without the ability to express themselves with the written word" (para. 2).
For graduates of mass communications programs, such inability threatens the very core of a profession that depends upon communications skills. This concern about students' weak writing skills has been echoed by many, including Maxwell (2002), who in an article in the Alameda Times-Star wrote: "They [students] need to learn the craft and art of writing. Unfortunately, most writing-across-the-curriculum programs are too hit-and-miss to inculcate a love of writing or even an attitude of appreciating the importance of writing" (p. 2).
This paper examines one department of journalism's efforts to identify, address, and correct basic writing deficiencies for students seeking a journalism degree with a concentration in news-editorial, broadcast, or public relations. Northwestern State University's (NSU) Department of Journalism, located in a mid-sized, open-admissions university in the rural South, initiated a writing diagnostic test as a prerequisite for admission to the gateway media writing course required of all majors. To assist students failing the test, the department created a new elective course, "Literacy Skills for Journalists" (JOUR 1010). This preliminary report presents the findings and discussion based on initial data collection and instructor observations. These results provided a platform for discussing the efficacy of requiring diagnostic writing tests for admission into a journalism program and the most effective methods to remediate poor writing, to teach writing basics, to focus students' attention on the importance of good writing, and, ultimately, to develop writing skills acceptable for entry-level mass communications positions.
Literature Review
Bissell and Collins (2003) found in their research that writing deficiencies have not gone unnoticed at the college level. However, the issue remains: what are universities doing to correct students' writing deficiencies? For journalism programs, corrective action is critical because writing remains at the profession's core. Kunkel (2003), dean of the Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, stated succinctly, "Writing instructors are obligated to teach the fundamentals of media writing" (p.4). Calling journalism writing "part skill, part craft and part art" he said that students should have a solid foundation in reporting, writing, and editing.
John, Reminski and Hanks (1991), found "... considerable diversity among programs teaching journalism regarding testing, uses of tests, criteria, types of tests used, retake policies, and remedial help" (p. 48). They concluded that despite long-standing interest in formal assessment of language skills, agreed upon standards are non-existent. A survey conducted by Oukrop, Brown, & Parsons (1998) indicated that only 57 out of 183 responding programs required a language skills exam, an additional 7% had removed this requirement, and 113 programs had never required an exam.
Bunton, Kanihan, and Neuzil (2000) examined the use of ability grouping in a mass media writing course to improve student writing, both content and mechanical skills. Their data indicated the usefulness of ability grouping to improve skills and also indicated that tests of mechanical skills alone do not predict student ability to write a story.
Urban (1998) wrote that "Each misspelled word, bad apostrophe, garbled grammatical construction, weird cutline, and mislabeled map erodes public confidence in a newspaper's ability to get anything right" (p. 8). The Pew Center examined press views and found that error-filled reporting, including grammatical mistakes, was seen as a major flaw. In addition, 21% of the public and 37% of journalists reported seeing grammar, spelling or punctuation mistakes every day. According to Barnes, chair of the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (personal communication, October 2002), graduates must write correctly and clearly and be able to critique their own work and others' work for grammar, appropriate style, accuracy, and fairness.
Background
Northwestern is an open-admissions university and entering freshmen have an average composite ACT score of 20.5, somewhat higher than the state composite average of 19.6 for 2002. Many of the students are first-generation college attendees and are at risk academically, with 61% of entering freshmen placed in remedial courses. Because admission to the journalism program is open and does not require qualifying tests or scores, many students declare the major without understanding the rigors of the program and the mass communications profession. In fact, less than 20% of students who declared journalism as their major in their first year of college remained as journalism majors four years later. Within this context, the seemingly low retention rate is understandable but does not illustrate the popularity of the major. Enrollment in the major has increased in each of the last five years, from 170 in 1997 to 205 in 2002.
Increasing critical comments and observations from journalism faculty, employers, and internship supervisors about students' writing skills prompted the NSU journalism department to address these concerns. The faculty decided that elevating students' writing competencies required additional curriculum emphasis, student accountability for demonstrating competency, and ongoing program assessment. Because the journalism faculty as a whole valued writing instruction, the faculty took seriously its responsibility to assist students in elevating communication skills.
In 2000 the faculty developed and implemented a Language Skills Diagnostic Test (LSDT) and a basic writing skills course,"Literacy Skills for Journalists "The LSDT was added in 2001 to the existing prerequisite of a grade of "C" or higher in the two freshman composition courses for admission to the gateway writing course. All journalism majors must complete the initial media writing course with a "C" or higher before enrollment in other journalism courses. The remedial literacy course was designed to help students pass the LSDT and to improve overall fundamental writing skills and knowledge.
An in-house test, the LSDT consists of two parts. The first part covers basic mechanics such as parts of speech, punctuation, sentence structure and formation, and word usage. The skills are comparable to those required to pass the Louisiana high school graduation exit exam. The second part consists of a student essay based on a prompt related to journalism or writing. The essay is assessed holistically by at least three faculty members for critical thinking, organization, writing style, correct grammar, and critical thinking. The department provides a study guide and allows students to retake the test, given four times each semester during registration periods.
Freshmen journalism majors receive information about the LSDT in the first-semester orientation course. Because most of these students also take the mass communications survey course their first semester, the department administers the test during a class session near the end of the semester in addition to other testing dates. The goal is an early warning system for students with weak writing skills. Faculty advisers also encourage transfer students or new majors to take the next scheduled LSDT. Students who do not pass both parts of the test are strongly encouraged to enroll in JOUR 1010.
In fact, the department encourages any student who wants to improve his or her writing skills to enroll in this elective course, viewed more as an "enrichment" course rather than "remedial ." The course justification states: "Journalism relies on good writing, which, in turn, relies on fundamental language skills." By ensuring students understand rules for standard English, this course better prepares majors to complete their program of study and to achieve later professional success. Students are advised that the three hours earned in this course will not count for hours required of a journalism major or minor. It can count as an elective course to meet university graduation requirements. During this course, students review writing fundamentals and use as their textbook Kessler and McDonald's When Words Collide. Students also access and use writing resources available on the World Wide Web. Topics include grammar, punctuation, spelling, sentence formation, and paragraph organization and structure. In addition to workbook exercises, students practice writing essays, proofing, and correcting their work.
The Study
The LSDT was administered to 175 students between spring 2001 and 2003. While some quantitative figures for the LSDT pass-fail rates and for successful completion of the basic media writing course were identified, both the data and faculty member observations, at this point, are more qualitative in nature. The database used for this study includes LSDT test data, ACT scores, and grades in prerequisite English and journalism courses. Additionally, identification of effective methods for data collection and analysis are ongoing. The initial findings and conclusions presented in this paper represent efforts to address a curriculum problem through an action research project.
The Unit's diagnostic assessment and foundations course were created with the following beliefs:
1. Many students enter the program with weak writing skills;
2. The results of the LSDT will alert students and faculty to writing deficiencies;
3. Poor writing skills can be improved with added emphasis and through curriculum offerings;
4. Students who pass the LSDT and the literacy skills course will successfully complete the basic media writing course; and
5. A writing diagnostic requirement will emphasize the importance of writing skills for journalism majors.
The Findings
Data for this study were gathered over five fall and spring semesters during the 2001-2003 academic years. Basic descriptive statistics were calculated based on this data. Since the initial data were sparse, findings are reported below as frequencies and as percentages.
1. As of spring 2003, 175 students have taken the LSDT. Of these, 100 students (57%) failed to perform at the expected level.
2. Of those who took the LSDT, 29 students (91%) having ACT-English scores requiring a developmental English placement (ACT 0-17) did not meet minimum scores on the LSDT. Of those students having ACT-English scores not requiring a developmental placement (ACT 18-27), 66 students (49%) failed to meet the minimum score requirement on the LSDT.
3. All students who initially did not meet minimum scores on the LSDT, took the JOUR 1010, and afterward met minimum score requirements on the LSDT earned average final grades of"B" and "C" in the gateway media writing course (JOUR 2510). None, however, earned a final grade of "A."
4. Of those 100 students who did not meet minimum scores on the LSDT, 55 students (55%) have not yet taken JOUR 1010 and have not been admitted to the gateway course;
5. Students who took the gateway course after successfully completing the remedial course and passing the LSDT (38) earned grades of "B" and "C" in the gateway course.
6. An analysis of English course placement indicated that 19 students (21%) who obtained three hours of credit in freshman English (ENGL 1010) based on ACT scores (28-31) passed the LSDT. All seven students who received six hours of credit in freshman English (ENGL 1010, 1020) based on ACT scores (32 and higher) passed the LSDT.
7. Not enough evidence was available to determine the significant effects of successful completion of ENGL 1010 and 1020 on the pass rate of the LSDT. However, an analysis of grades in freshman English reveals that students who received a grade of "C" or higher in the prerequisite freshman English courses experienced equal success in the gateway media writing course (JOUR 2510).
Since the implementation of the prerequisite diagnostic test, faculty members have noted three major outcomes: (1) more instruction and activities have focused on media writing principles and techniques, rather than writing remediation; (2) grades averages have improved; and (3) students' confidence in their writing abilities and awareness of the importance of these skills for the profession have lessened the complaints (whining) about instructor emphasis on correct language usage. Students' increased confidence correlates to the importance of student self-efficacy in a media writing course, as described by Collins and Bissell (2002).
Conclusions and Recommendations
This study, based on a pilot diagnostic and basic writing skills course, validated faculty members' beliefs and the literature that addresses poor preparation for college-level writing. Specifically, findings from this study indicated that a majority (57%) of those students taking the LSDT did not meet minimum requirements for success. Of this group, those having developmental English placements based on ACT-English test scores constituted the largest non-success rate on the LSDT (91%). Of note, however, is the significant number of students with no developmental English course placements (49%) who failed to meet the minimum score requirement on the LSDT.
One of the more important findings was that all students who initially did not meet minimum score requirements on the LSDT, who successfully completed JOUR 1010, and afterward passed the LSDT earned passing grades in the gateway media writing course (JOUR 2510). The study also found that earned credit in the first English course (ENGL 1010) only does not provide the adequate preparation needed to meet the requirements of the LSDT. However, credit in both ENGL 1010 and 1020 yielded a 100% pass rate. Lack of sufficient evidence precludes determining the significant effects of successful completion of ENGL 1010 and 1020 on the pass rate of the LSDT as well as precluding determining the significant effect of "C" or higher grades in the prerequisite freshman English courses on success in the gateway media writing course (JOUR 2510).
The findings, though sketchy, warrant future investigation into the efficacy of diagnostic tests like the LSDT and basic writing skills coursework for journalism majors. Continued collection of data will allow for more significant data interpretation. Additionally, a more in-depth look at the basic writing skills course (JOUR 10101) and its effect on improved writing skills is needed. Nonetheless, the findings to date have validated the need for assessing writing skills and providing corrective programs.
Faculty members in this department have commented on students' general poor preparation for college-level writing and the lack of student interest or motivation to write well and often, or both. Writing, like any skill, takes practice. The best can take that skill from a craft to an art. One challenge is to have journalism majors meet basic skill requirements and be able to advance academically and professionally based on their studies, talents, and desires. The second challenge will be to better understand how best to teach writing and motivate students. The LSDT and literacy skills course are efforts to remediate weak writing and position students for curriculum and career success.