Here in Virginia, students must pass muliple choice type tests to cover reading comprehension and academic achievement in addition to writing tests. A big percentage of my instructional time goes to the teaching of strategies for writing essays, and much of my time away from school goes to the grading and responses to those essays. I would imagine in those states in which academic programs are strong, the writing test--not a multiple choice test in any way--is well in place. Rubrics are used to score the tests with the three main domains for scoring covering compositional skills such as organizational format, written expression skills such as word choice, and mechanics such as spelling.

I have felt successful with about 60-70% of my students this year, a percentage I know is by far too low. But it has not been for lack of effort since I have worked 13- to 14-hour days at school this year and am home now simply because of an injury.

I would invite anyone who cavalierly criticizes the teaching profession to join our ranks with energy, enthusiasm, and determination to make a difference in the lives of our future writers. Teachers have not given up--they continue to sacrifice time well beyond contract hours to help their students improve. I have not found the answer in making students who refuse to work do so, but I also will not admit that there is no answer.