Writing Skills Assessment is Important
By Kathleen Riley-King
"When we arrived at Capital
College, most of us had been speaking
English since we were about a year old;
we had been writing since age 6; we had
completed several college-level English
courses, and were at least in our third
year of college. By this point in our
lives, we felt that we had mastered the
English language fairly well.
Then, we were told that we had
to take the Writing Skills Assessment
(WSA).
At the least , some of us were
annoyed. "I thought it was a pain" said
one agitated education major.
Some of us felt insulted.
Others of us were angry. And when
some of us were told that our writing
was poor the anger escalated.
Even those of us who did well
on the assessment became speculative or
skeptical. We wondered about the
purpose of such an assessment.
"It doesn't really tell anything,"
said an engineering student. -
"There must be a purpose in
it," said a humanities major.
But what is that purpose? And
is the assessment accurate?
I sought some answers
First I wanted to know how the
assessment was scored. Joanne Smith,
director of the Writing Lab illuminated
the process.
What You Should Know About the Lab
According to Joanne Smith, director, The Writing Lab, its purpose is
* to provide a tutorial service for undergraduate and graduate students
* to administer the Writing Skills Assessment (WSA),
* to provide the WSA results to all of the divisions,
* to provide clinics, and
* to provide in-class presentations and writing papers.
Besides the tutorial service, the Lab has handouts on the writing forms
accepted in the engineering and business worlds, and it has books and other aids
on how to write papers, reports, and letters. "It's almost like a library," says tutor
Barbara Myers.
Anyone who wants to improve his or her writing skills may use the Lab.
Both students who struggle with writing and students who write well use the Lab.
Students who just wish to have someone look over a paper or a resume also use
the Lab. However, students who have been referred to the Lab have a choice: to
use it, not to use it, or to get help elsewhere.
The tutors are either humanities graduate students or college graduates
who have taught English or who have had extensive professional experience,
Smith says. Last Fall, they attended a two-hour training session.
No, the service is free to all students.
Yes. "We do not release the names of the students to people," Smith
The Writing Lab is located in W-242 Olmsted and has the following
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
If you want to use the Lab's resources, stop by W-242 or call 948-6355
to make an appointment. If these hours do not suit, a special appointment may
be possible.
Using last fall as an example,
she explained that there had been 18
evaluators, all of whom had completed
the Summer Writing Institute, a six
credit course on teaching writing as a
process. The evaluators included
Harrisburg Area Community College
faculty, high school writing teachers,
and writing teachers from Capital
College.
Professor Donald Wolf
instructed the evaluators as to what to
look for. Each assessment was then read
by two readers. If the two did not agree
on the scoring, a third reader became
involved.
The assessments were evaluated
using holistic scoring, which involved
looking at the sample as a whole and
determining if it was successful overall.
Then, the evaluators looked at grammar,
which was not the main factor in scoring
the sample, Smith said.
To me, this method seemed
fair, but then a student told me that
during her first two years of college she
had been in an excelled writing program
and had won a writing award. She
received a low WSA score.
A second student reported a
similar experience.
Tutor Joan Klein said that once
or twice students had come to the
Writing Lab with low WSA scores, and
she had found their writing to be
acceptable. Such instances are rare, she
9 a.m. - 4 p.m
9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
6 p.m. - 8 p.m
Smith said that the WSA is not
foolproof and that it is not the only way
to evaluate a student's writing ability.
However, she feels that it is the only
way to handle the approximately 600
students who must be evaluated each
semester.
"Usually these [WSA's] are
valid," she said.
Then she showed me her
calculations of the WSA scores for both
the fall of 1986 and the fall of 1987.
Between 650 and 700 students had taken
the WSA each semester. Of that
number, approximately 30 percent had
scores that were marginal, unacceptable,
or deficient.
She also explained how the
WSA was initiated. "We started
it...because we got so much feedback
from professors that the students were
not able to successfully complete either
a laboratory assignment or a term paper
or an essay test," she said.
By 1985, the faculty in each
division had voted to have the WSA,
Smith said.
With so many students having
writing problems of some sort, I could
understand why the WSA is given.
Smith and the tutors elaborated on the
reasons.
"I think a lot of students feel
that they can write...and suddenly they're
getting hit right between the eyes with
Meet the Lab Personnel
When I walked into W-242 to
talk to Joanne Smith, director, The
Writing Lab, I was greeted by a
sprightly woman. She ushered me to a
chair and as I waited for a moment while
she talked to a student worker, a staccato
of voices resounded in my ears, bringing
to mind a crowded subway station.
As we talked, she explained the
voices, "the personality of the Lab is all
the people that are here."
I decided to hear what some of
the voices had to say.
About why they tutor:
Barbara Myers: "I'm a
professional writer...and I enjoy all the
aspects of writing, and I really enjoy the
one-to-one relationship that you develop
with the student."
Janice Barnes: "Mrs. Smith
asked me! I would guess because I feel
that I can help students to achieve a
better quality. . .of the level of their
writing, and that, somehow, is very
satisfying."
Joan Klein: "I love working
with young people."
About the Lab
Barbara Myers: "I think the
unfortunate thing is that students look at
it as a place they don't want to be rather
than as a resource place."
think it's very useful. The tutors were
very good."
Joan Klein: "It's a useful tool
to have. . .and it's not something that is
Capital Times February 3, 1988, Page 7
nasty grades, and the
Writing Skills Assessment is a sieve
with which to catch these people before
they get into serious trouble," said
Klein.
Another reason, Smith said, is
"we're trying to say that when you get a
riegree from Penn State it means you can
write. We're not saying anything's
wrong with another school, but we have
a set standard at this school, and we are
saying that we want the students, our
students, to meet this standard."
According to Smith, each
division determines what a low score on
the WSA means. For example, in the
education division, students may be
prevented from student teaching if their
scores are below a certain level.
Smith said that she only makes
recommendations, the final decision lies
with each division.
The tutors and Smith also
quickly pointed out several little-known
facts about the WSA. First, Smith said,
when students take the WSA, they have
been already been accepted at Capital
College, and if they score low, they will
not be expelled from school.
Second, according to Smith and
Ronda Graby, a student worker at the
Writing Lab, students may retake the
WSA.
Third, the WSA is almost
See WSA, p. 14
as demanding of their [the students'] time
as a class is."
Joanne Smith: "I think
everyone should use it. . . Just
because you're an A student or you've
done well on the writing sample doesn't
mean you don't have questions about
how to do a paper better."
Janice Barnes: "It's almost
specialized training. . . . It is an
opportunity which they [the students]
don't want to miss."
imp .Klein „ "Tutoring costs, if
done privately. . .probably between $lO
and $l5 an tiour, and this is free to. .
students."
About ge students who go to
the Lab
Janice Barnes: "So far,
everyone that 1 have worked with has
been very congenial and very open and
warm and receptive to my help. For that
I'm very appreciative."
Barbara Myers . , "Actually, I've
found most of the people that I have
[worked with] are very glad to be here."
Joanne Smith: "They've come
here angry. . . . You know what?
Some of them won't leave. They're
going to come this next whole semester.
I've had three of them this week that said
they want to continue to come."
About the success of the Lab:
Joantle Smith: "The kind of
success we have is generally not instant.
. . . We have lots of stories of
See PERSONNEL, p. 14