The Globe & Mail

Universities Trying To Cope With Students Lacking Basics

By Caroline Alphonso

The lack of basic writing and math skills among incoming students has become so dire that one Canadian university has resorted to "academic spies " -- two Sherlock Holmes types who pore over stacks of test scores.

The University of Ottawa has taken the extraordinary step of hiring these two full-time statisticians who have the unique job of weeding out students at risk of academic disaster early in their school year.

"We think we're flagging the weak ones and then offering them the services they need," said Serge Blais, director of the Student Academic Success Service.

Although professors have long lamented the English and math skills of their students, they are increasingly complaining that too many students -- some with top marks -- arrive on campus unprepared for the rigours of academia. These students struggle to string together a sentence, let alone form a paragraph.

"I have seen students present high school English grades in the 90s, who have not passed our simple English test. And I don't know why," said Ann Barrett, managing director of the University of Waterloo's English language proficiency program.

It's a perplexing problem that has become the topic of much debate on university and college campuses.

Some officials blame grade inflation at the high school level. Others say that in this primarily visual world, there's little focus on the written word. And one professor points to the high school curriculum being so jam-packed with content that teachers have no time to instruct on the basic skills.

It means that universities and colleges across the country have had little choice but to ramp up their academic support services, putting in place so-called academic spies, developing proficiency tests for the incoming class and expanding their math and English remedial programs.

Most of these programs aren't mandatory, but students are lining up. Four years ago, the University of Ottawa's writing help centre had 300 visits from the incoming class. Last year, almost 2,500 needed help with essays, grammar and punctuation.

Mr. Blais said professors are encouraged to test students early in the semester. The two statisticians, with full access to student records, can examine the results and swoop in to help floundering pupils. Students are encouraged, but not required, to attend workshops or to sign up for mentoring programs.

The statisticians not only focus on individual students, but also are collecting data on why students struggle in particular subjects.

"We're certainly noticing an increase in the type of difficulties that students come in with," Mr. Blais said.

At the University of Waterloo, officials immediately target certain students after administering an entrance exam in writing proficiency. Almost all students write a five-paragraph essay in their first week of school and are graded on grammar, punctuation and structure.

Ms. Barrett said that about 25 per cent of the students fail each year. Those students are required to get extra help.

"I'll tell you one thing that drives me crazy: So many students don't know the difference between 'then' and 'than.' How is this possible?" Ms. Barrett asked. "I've read it hundreds of times. Isn't that taught?"

In U.S. report released this month, 40 per cent of professors who were surveyed said that most of the students they teach lack the basic skills for university-level work. Further, the survey conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles found that 56 per cent cited working with unprepared students as a source of stress.

There is no similar national survey in Canada, according to the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, but there are many anecdotal stories from professors.

Some professors say their first lecture of the year usually involves teaching students grammar and math concepts -- basics that should have been taught in their elementary and high school years.

Bernie Gaidosch, a professor at George Brown College in Toronto, said a number of students arrive on campus with the equivalent of Grade 9 writing skills.

"Kids are coming out [of high school] with some idea of content. They're just not graduating with skills," said Prof. Gaidosch, who teaches writing skills and has also produced guides on writing essays and getting through exams. The guides can be found on his website, http://www.profsecrets.com.

Prof. Gaidosch added: "Students are great at e-mailing. They're good with the Internet . . . but when it comes to basic literacy, basic writing skills, they're challenged."

Amy Graham recalls receiving "brownie points" in high school for understanding the content. When it came to writing, she struggled.

Now a student at Brock University, Ms. Graham said she consistently received comments from professors, saying she wasn't organizing her essay properly, or that she lacked basic writing skills.

"I couldn't get it across," the 24-year-old said. "I was always so reliant on my verbal skills in high school."

Ms. Graham turned to her university's writing centre. "It's my home away from home," she said.

Indeed, university officials have realized that high school averages don't necessarily serve as proper indicators as to how students will fare.

Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C., will get down to the basics next year, focusing on math and English marks. Students who fail to earn at least an 80 per cent in their high school English course will be subjected to an English proficiency test. What's more, the school is designing a math test for those students who don't receive at least 70 per cent in high school math.

Those who fail will have to take a foundation writing skills or math course.

"We consider these requirements," said Sarah Dench, director of university curriculum.

"What we're saying to our students is rather than us just assuming you'll pick it up as you go along through your various courses, we want to be very intentional about introducing these requirements to make sure you have them."

To top of page.

Home | Who Is Professor Bernie? | Media Coverage | Comments | Contact Professor Bernie | The Professor's Secrets Success-In-School Senior Edition For High School, College & University Students | The Professor's Secrets Junior Edition For Grades 1 - 6