Recently, Prince William County Schools decided to eliminate a single research paper as a graduation requirement.
However, they are not eliminating research papers in the curriculum altogether; instead the school division will emphasize writing in a variety of genres throughout the K-12 curriculum.
Language Arts Supervisor Roberta Apostolakis believes the emphasis on writing, which incorporates different genres, not only research, will provide for “more rigor” than the previous requirements did. She said it was time for a change.
“It was taking an inordinate amount of time to write one paper. I want our students to have many options to work with many genres of writing.”
However, Apostolakis explains that while the school division has eliminated a graduation requirement, they are simultaneously infusing the language arts curriculum with a more comprehensive writing curriculum that spans the students' entire scholastic career.
Examples of these different types of student writing are collected in portfolios, which have become known in the language arts department as "the orange folders." Apostolakis prefers to call her system for collecting and evaluating student writing “Writing and Reading Assessment Folders.”
In these folders, students are required to have samples of writing in various genres, such as narrative, expository and persuasive pieces. The first component she required for elementary students were narrative essays: one written at beginning of the year and another at the end. Since then, the folders have evolved to include more assignments. But Apostolakis explains they are still investigating the new system: a process that is ongoing.
First, she observed what was happening in the classrooms. From there, she determined there “was a need for us to have a common way to look at the needs of our students, and plan where we wanted to go.”
Next, she convened a focus group of expert writing teachers, some who have taught with the Virginia Writing Project at George Mason University. With the help of those teachers, she and her staff settled on the idea of writing folders as the division standard to encourage writing in various genres.
Apostolakis said that a folder is necessary, because it is more than one assignment that tells the full story of a student’s progress.
“We want to see over a continuum: where are we seeing growth? Where are we seeing trends?”
These folders, which contain student writing, can be used in parent-teacher conferences or to inform teachers of their students’ progress. They also serve as means for the school division to gather data and see how the various schools are doing in this area relative to one another.
Apostolakis currently relies on reading teachers and department chairs to report grades to her. Going forward, she may find other ways to spot-check students' progress.
The folders do require some standardization, she explained. For data collection and equity, students will be asked to write to the same prompt as their peers.
But Apostolakis does not want the Writing and Reading Assessment Folders to intimidate students the way the SOLs often do. She also said she strongly believes in teacher autonomy and does not want the folders to limit that in any way.
Her hope is that the folders spur more opportunity for writing in the classroom, so students become more familiar and proficient. She especially believes this is important in the upper elementary grades, because the state has recently eliminated the fifth grade SOL Writing test that year, and she does not want that to be a reason for teachers to deemphasize writing.
High school English teachers, who attended a summer meeting with Apostolakis to help plan curriculum, said they were in favor of eliminating a specific research paper as a graduation requirement. They said parents felt that students worked very hard on the assignment, but they also said it created much unnecessary fear and frustration. The teachers said is important for the research process to be a positive experience, as it is an essential component of the college curriculum, and they look forward to teaching it in a way that will now pique students' curiosity.
While most grades have already incorporated the Writing and Reading Assessment Folders, they will soon be implemented in the higher grade levels.
Support Bristow Beat - Donate Today!