Writing practice pays for Ybor school

Washington Middle School's 0.7-point gain, one of the best in the state, reflects the success in improving writing scores.

By SARAH SCHWEITZER

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 23, 2000

TAMPA -- At Booker T. Washington Middle School there was cause for jubilation Thursday. Unbridled, raucous jubilation.

The magnet school in Ybor City learned they had bested their score from last year on the writing portion of the FCAT by seven-tenths of a point, hoisting them to among the tops in the state.

Only a Hillsborough charter school and a Duval County school had earned a higher score than Washington, leaving the school tied for second with a score of 4.6 out of a possible 6.

"We get excited when we move up one-tenth of a point," said Scott Green, one of two language arts teachers at the school. "We had no idea we would do so phenomenally."

Washington was among nearly a dozen Hillsborough schools with standout improvement on their writing scores. While the district writing scores on average improved by nearly half a point in the three grade levels that took the exam -- fourth, eighth and 10th -- there were schools like Wimauma Elementary in southern Hillsborough that jumped 1.1 points, from a 2.7 to a 3.8, and Oak Park Elementary that jumped 0.9 point, from a 2.4 to a 3.3.

Meanwhile, only a handful of schools saw their writing scores drop, and then by a couple of tenths of a point.

The key to the schools' improvement? There was no silver bullet. For a test that measures writing skills by adherence to a formula -- thesis, supporting paragraphs, conclusion -- practice, many principals said, was the only real trick, if any.

"There was no flashy technique," said Brenda Nolte, the principal of Burns Middle School in Brandon, which jumped from a 3.6 to a 4.4. "What I think it was is a real big concerted effort from everyone."

Extracting a concerted effort from students, principals said, required a few tried and true techniques, but also a few creative ones.

At Washington, no class passed without a writing assignment. In gym, students not only played soccer but also wrote about its history. In science class, they penned essays about global warming.

Every teacher across the disciplines graded student writing according to the standards of the test.

"We all made sure that the students had an introduction, an interesting lead, a thesis and that the body paragraphs matched the thesis," Green said.

At Wimauma, a school where 82 percent of the students are mobile and many are learning English as a second language, the task was made somewhat easier by the luck of having drawn a particularly bright fourth-grade class. But the students' promise still had to be tapped.

For the first time, the school assigned every student a mentor. Custodians, teachers, even the principal, Carol DeAgazio, had two or three students who were theirs to tutor, encourage and praise.

"Self-esteem is a big thing at this school," DeAgazio said.

A big party is planned for the first day of school, she said, although a large chunk of kids will likely miss it. School fills up in September, when students return from their work in the fields of Michigan and elsewhere.

At Hillsborough High School, which lept from a 3.7 to a 4.4, teacher training played a key role. With a better understanding of the test, teachers were able to impart to the students what was expected of them, said Tom Rao, the principal.

"The teachers were more aware of the things we had to target," Rao said.

Still, some principals said an obvious factor couldn't be discounted: The test is in its third year and no longer an unknown quantity. As such, they said, students who took the test this year had the benefit of three years of training compared with one or two years in the past.

"It's just starting to click," said Charles Washington, the principal of Lockhart Elementary School, where writing scores jumped from 2.9 to 3.6. "The teachers are more familiar with the requirements and the students have been prepared for longer."

So if the test is teachable, are kids learning to write or learning to take the test?

Principals across the board said two are interwoven, and hardly exclusive.

Green, the language arts teacher at Washington, said powerful essay writing is the goal with FCAT testing only mentioned toward the end of the year when students are told that the skills they have learned all along will now come in handy.

"This is a basic foundation they need to know. As they develop as writers, they will develop style," Green said. "This is the foundation they need to develop that style.

DeAgazio, the principal of Wimauma Elementary School, said, "These skills are transferable. You have to be able to write cohesive sentences."

Likewise, Washington, of Lockhart Elementary School, said his school is teaching the requirements of good writing, which happen to be the requirements of FCAT tests.

When test scores tell him that students at his school, which earned a D under the A-Plus plan last year, have mastered those requirements, it is cause for elation.

"Now in the eyes of the community, my children, with concentrated effort, can succeed," he said. "This school can meet the standards of this state."

Sarah Schweitzer covers education and can be reached at (813) 226-3400 or schweitzer@sptimes.com.

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