I recently watched the TV show “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” and was disturbed by the idea that comparing the education level of adults to 5th graders was “entertainment.” The episode featured a pre-law college student trying to answer questions that are supposedly taught in elementary school classrooms. She answered several questions correctly and then struggled with a basic grammar question to identify the part of speech of a word (given in the context of a sentence). Unfortunately, she did not know that the word was an adverb and dropped out of the running for the $1 million jackpot.
This college student’s mistake exemplifies the larger problem that many high school graduates and college students struggle with grammar. Our research finds that large numbers of Texas high school graduates need remedial education in writing just to be able to do college-level work.
Some courageous Texas reformers are trying to buck this trend by increasing the rigor of Texas’ K-12 English/Language Arts curriculum. The proposed curriculum emphasizes the teaching of grammar by giving it its own section within the curriculum. We hope the State Board of Education in Texas understands the need for change and chooses to adopt these more rigorous standards.
– Brooke Terry