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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:#003399'>150 years ago today. . . <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/09/17/antietam-150th-prompts-reflection-on-loss-freedom428853/">http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/09/17/antietam-150th-prompts-reflection-on-loss-freedom428853/</a> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:#003399'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#003399'>Edward A. Hawks, III, M.Ed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div><div><div><div><div class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#003399'><hr size=5 width=506 style='width:271.9pt' noshade style='color:black' align=left></span></div></div></div></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#003399'>Gifted Intervention Specialist <b><i>|</i></b> Exceptional Student Education<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#003399'>Kent City School District<o:p></o:p></span></p><div><div><div><div><div class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:red'><hr size=5 width=507 style='width:272.4pt' noshade style='color:red' align=left></span></div></div></div></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#003399'>What he seemed, he was—a wholly human gentleman, the <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#003399'>essential elements of whose positive character were two and <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#003399'>only two, simplicity and spirituality.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#003399'>(Douglas Southall Freeman on Robert E. Lee)<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:#003399'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> ohiogift-bounces@lists.service.ohio-state.edu [mailto:ohiogift-bounces@lists.service.ohio-state.edu] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Will Fitzhugh<br><b>Sent:</b> Monday, September 17, 2012 7:59 AM<br><b>To:</b> ohiogift@lists.service.ohio-state.edu<br><b>Subject:</b> [Ohiogift] The Three Percent<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><i><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'>The Boston Globe</span></i><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'>Saturday, September 15, 2012</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'>The Nation</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'>Most students <u>not</u> proficient in writing</span></b><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'>, test finds</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'>2011 results are first for students using computers</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'>by Christine Armario, Associated Press</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:5.25pt;margin-left:0in;min-height: 13px'><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span class=apple-tab-span><b><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'> </span></b></span><b><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'>Just a quarter </span></b><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'>of eighth and 12th grade students in the United States have solid writing skills, even when allowed to use spell-check and other computer word-processing tools, according to results of a national exam [NAEP} released Friday.</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span class=apple-tab-span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'> </span></span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'>Twenty-seven percent of students at each grade level were able to write essays that were well-developed, organized, and had proper language and grammar—<b>3 percent</b> were advanced and 24 percent were proficient. The remainder showed just <b>partial</b> mastery of these skills.</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span class=apple-tab-span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'> </span></span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span class=apple-tab-span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'> </span></span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'>“It is important to remember this is first draft writing,” said Cornelia Orr, executive director of the National Assessment Governing Board, which administers the Nation’s Report Card tests. “They did have some time to edit, but it wasn’t extensive editing.”</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span class=apple-tab-span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'> </span></span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'>Students who took the writing test in 2011 had an advantage that previous test takers did not: a computer with spell-check and thesaurus. Previously, students taking the National Assessment of Educational Progress writing test had to use pencil and paper, but with changes in technology, and the need to write across electronic formats, the decision was made to switch to computers.</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span class=apple-tab-span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'> </span></span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'>Orr said students use technology and tools like spell-check on a daily basis. “It’s as if we had given them a pencil to write the essay and took away the eraser,” she said. </span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span class=apple-tab-span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'> </span></span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'>She said word processing tools alone wouldn’t result in significantly better writing scores <b>if students didn’t have the</b> <b>core skills</b> of being able to organize ideas and present them in a clear and grammatical fashion.</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span class=apple-tab-span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'> </span></span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'>Still, students in both grades who used the thesaurus and the backspace more frequently had higher scores than those who used them less often. Students in the 12th grade who had to write four or five pages a week for <b>English</b> homework also had higher scores.</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span class=apple-tab-span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'> </span></span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'>Because this was the first version of the computerized test, the board cautioned against comparing the results to previous exams. In 2007, 33 percent of eighth grade students scored at the proficient level, which represents solid writing skills, as did 24 percent at grade 12.</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span class=apple-tab-span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'> </span></span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'>The results at both grade levels showed a continued achievement gap between white, black, Hispanic, and Asian students.</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span class=apple-tab-span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'> </span></span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span class=apple-tab-span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'> </span></span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'>There was also a gender gap, with girls scoring 20 points higher on average than boys in the eighth grade and 14 points higher in 12th grade. Those who qualified for free and reduced price lunch, a key indicator of poverty, also had lower scores than those who did not; there was a 27 point difference between the two at the eighth grade.</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span class=apple-tab-span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'> </span></span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'>For the 2011 exam, laptops were brought into public and private schools across the country and more than 50,000 students were tested to get a nationally representative sample. Students were given <b>prompts</b> that required them to write essays that explained, persuaded, or conveyed an experience.</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span class=apple-tab-span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'> </span></span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'>Kathleen Blake Yancey, a professor at Florida State University who served on the advisory panel for the test, said one factor is that research show most students in the United States don’t compose at the keyboard.</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span class=apple-tab-span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'> </span></span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'>“What they do is sort of type already written documents into the machine, much as we used to do with typewriters four decades ago,” she said.</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span class=apple-tab-span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'> </span></span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'>Yancey said for this reason there was some concern about having students write on the computer as opposed to by hand.</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span class=apple-tab-span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'> </span></span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span class=apple-tab-span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'> </span></span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'>Likewise, having the advantage of spell-check assumes student know how to use it. And in some schools and neighborhoods, computers are still not easily accessible.</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span class=apple-tab-span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'> </span></span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'>“There are not so many students that actually learn to write composing at the keyboard,” she said.</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span class=apple-tab-span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'> </span></span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'>Yancey added that many students who do have access to computers are not necessarily using them to write at school, but to take standardized tests and filling in bubbles.</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span class=apple-tab-span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'> </span></span><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'>“Digital technology is a technology,” she said. “Paper and pencil is a technology. If technology were the answer, that would be pretty simple.”</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'>------------------------</span><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-family:"Palatino","serif"'><br></span></b><span class=apple-style-span><b><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Palatino","serif"'>“Teach by Example”</span></b></span><span style='font-family:"Palatino","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Palatino","serif"'>Will Fitzhugh [founder]<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Palatino","serif"'>The Concord Review</span></i><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Palatino","serif"'> [1987]<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Palatino","serif"'>Ralph Waldo Emerson Prizes [1995]<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Palatino","serif"'>National Writing Board [1998]<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Palatino","serif"'>TCR Institute [2002]<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Palatino","serif"'>730 Boston Post Road, Suite 24<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Palatino","serif"'>Sudbury, Massachusetts 01776-3371 USA<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Palatino","serif"'>978-443-0022; 800-331-5007<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><u><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Palatino","serif";color:#3863BB'><a href="http://www.tcr.org/">www.tcr.org</a></span></u><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Palatino","serif";color:black'>; <a href="mailto:fitzhugh@tcr.org">fitzhugh@tcr.org</a></span><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Palatino","serif";color:#150F85'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Palatino","serif"'>Varsity Academics®<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Palatino","serif"'><a href="http://www.tcr.org/blog">www.tcr.org/blog</a><o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>