Updated: June 19, 12 a.m.
The Prince William County School Board unanimously voted June 18 to delete Regulation 600-1, which requires 11th grade students to summit and pass a research paper.
"I am 100 percent behind this. I believe that we will actually be able to use our resources even more appropriately; I believe that the learning that is currently accomplished through the 11th grade writing project will be even better inculcated, with a variety of genres across all grade level...I think again this will help to inculcate teaching the writing project in a variety ways, not just research writing, across all content areas K through 12," Superintendent of Schools Dr. Steven L. Walts said.
Original Story:
If the School Board approves, 11th grade students in Prince William County schools will no longer be required to submit and pass a formal research paper as a requirement for graduation.
School Board members heard arguments from teachers and administrators Wednesday night as to whether they should delete Regulation 600-1, which dictates the research paper requirement.
Supervisor of Language Arts Roberta Apostolakis said she believes deleting the graduation requirement and allowing for more writing within the curriculum would "absolutely strengthen" writing within language arts classes.
While research will still be an extensive part of the K-12 curriculum, the emphasis would not be greater in the 11th grade year than in any other year. Moreover, the deletion of that requirement will allow all grade levels, especially 11th grade, to spend more time on various genres of writing.
Research paper as part of a comprehensive writing curriculum
In her presentation, Roberta Apostolakis emphasized that the rigorous research-based writing, which is embedded throughout the K-12 curricula and the evidence collected throughout a student's career, exceeds one "narrowly defined assignment." She asked that the School Board approve making the English 11 research paper "an embedded part of the English curriculum rather than a separate graduation requirement."
According to Apostolakis, the research paper took too much time out of the 11th grade curriculum, was weighted too heavily and did not vary the assignment to the level of the student.
High school principals believed it was time to do away with the 11th grade research paper
Battlefield Principal Amy Ethridge-Conti spoke before the Board on behalf of all high school principals who were in agreement that the graduation requirement ought to be rescinded.
“For the past three years, the high school principals have been discussing the English research paper as a barrier to graduation. We have come to the conclusion that the research paper requirement is not an accurate reflection of the 21st century skills we believe our students need," Ethridge-Conti said.
She explained that the research and writing should be a comprehensive part of the high school curriculum across years and subjects, so that so much weight is not placed on just one assignment.
"It becomes an isolated assignment that stands between the student and graduation," she said. "Students enter the research process in what can only be described as fear, because the graduation requirement of every student is at stake."
Furthermore, she emphasized that the research paper process requires a heavy investment of time.
"English 11 teachers spend weeks teaching the research paper as a step by step process," she said. "The focus is not on igniting a student's interest in exploring a topic and teaching him or her to work throughout language...the focus is not on the power of words. The focus is purely on getting the student through each step of the process."
The principals' second greatest concern about the research paper is that it offers no differentiation.
"There is no consideration of the skill level for students. For example, the requirements for English language learners and advanced placement students are the same," Ethridge-Conti said, explaining that it is "insurmountable" for some, and for others offers hardly any challenge.
How the research paper has affected students
Reading specialist Vicky Sullivan shared her daughter's story. Having failed the research paper in 2008, she received an incomplete in English even though she would have otherwise received a B for the year. That incomplete prevented her from applying for early admission to college as recommended for her major.
However, during the 20-hour tutorial, which the School Division offered more than an hour away from her home, a teacher helped her correct her research paper in a few minutes. The failing grade was only due to mistakes on her works cited page.
Introducing students to research at an early age
To demonstrate that writing would be implemented into the curriculum early and across all grade levels, Victory Elementary School Principal Donna Kirby presented to the School Board the kinds of research-based assignments that first grade students had completed including a nonfiction research booklet.
“Even though this looks like a quick and easy thing to do, it is very involved. It involves meta-cognition strategies and really plays into skills that the students will need later on even as they are writing papers in high school," Kirby said.
To create the book, the children took notes. They then compiled those notes into full sentences and, with their teachers help, synthesized those notes into a research-based book.
Apostolakis said that elementary teachers are required to compile folders of their students writing assignments that is used to "monitor the growth of a student writer."
Response from School Board members
Brentsville district School Board member Gil Trenum said he was inclined to trust the experts from his district.
"I think we've been talking about the 11th grade research paper for a few years now. I would agree. I think it's time we changed this. I know as my own experiences as a parent, that didn't seem to be the best way for our juniors to be spending their time," he said.
Apostolakis agreed that when writing is incorporated throughout the K-12 curriculum, it will be less of a burden on the 11th grade curriculum, freeing the teacher up to cover more content.
When we are spending three months on just one type of writing, it is to the disadvantage of those other types of writing," Apostolakis said.
Chairman Milt Johns said he voted to keep the research paper nine years ago, but he agreed that times change.
As long as there is still a comprehensive writing curriculum, Johns said he feels comfortable supporting the removal of the graduation requirement.
While the research paper would no longer be a graduation requirement, research papers and other writing assignments are components of the 11th grade curriculum,
What is the 11th grade research paper?
The research paper, in its original incarnation, was a 5 to 7 page paper written under the supervision of English 11 teachers. The 14-step process required students to choose and research a topic, develop a thesis and write a paper using the format endorsed by the Modern Language Association (MLA).
Until two years ago, the research paper was sent to an outside company to score. However, the school division transferred the responsibility of grading the paper to the individual high schools. Students who did not compose a passing research paper would have to fix their work in a mandated 20-hour tutorial or complete a 45-hour tutorial if they did not submit their paper at all. They could not graduate high school in the county without passing the research paper.
The School Board will vote to on the deletion of Regulation 600-1 at their June 18 meeting.
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