Bright students 'cannot write essays', say Cambridge

dons
Bright students are starting university unable to structure an essay because of the
damage caused by test-driven schooling, Cambridge academics warned on Monday.
The demands of test-driven schooling are eroding students' writing skills, according to Cambridge academics. Photo: GETTY
By Graeme Paton (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/graeme-paton/) , Education Editor
6:19PM GMT 05 Mar 2012
526 Comments (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9124555/Bright-students-cannot-write
-essays-say-Cambridge-dons.html#disqus_thread)
Many undergraduates are struggling to show their natural flair after being ordered to write in a highly-
structured way to pass exams, it was claimed.
Robert Tombs, professor of history at St John's College, Cambridge, warned that students were drilled into
writing in a formulaic manner between the age of 11 and 18, leaving them unable to articulate their ideas on
degree courses.
Page 1 of 3 Bright students 'cannot write essays', say Cambridge dons - Telegraph
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David Abulafia, professor of Mediterranean history at Gonville and Caius College, also told how extremely
bright students were grappling with difficulties that would have been inconceivable in the past, even
among their weakest classmates.
The comments made at a seminar organised by the Politeia think tank come amid growing concerns
over levels of basic skills among school leavers.
A study last year suggested that almost half of employers were being forced to provide remedial lessons in
the three-Rs because teenagers finish compulsory education lacking good levels of English and maths.
Too many students gaining A grades, top examiner admits
(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9114278/Too-many-students-gaining-A-grades-top
-examiner-admits.html)
New A-level ranking system proposed in exams overhaul
(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8824802/New-A-level-ranking-system-proposed-in
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A-level marking may be tougher next year (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/6062684/A-levels-
standards-row-over-record-grades.html)
Schools becoming 'exam factories' (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/6546695/Schools-becoming-
exam-factories.html)
Universities favour deprived students (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/6265479/A-level-exams-
should-be-earlier.html)
Speaking at the seminar in central London, Prof Tombs said many undergraduates had been taught to write
essays at school simply to pass tests.
"One of the things that one notices in student essays is how much damage has been done by the imposition
of artificial structures for essay writing, he said.
They've been drilled into writing a particular way, making particular kinds of arguments in a particular order
and not writing their own ideas or responding to questions in a fresh and original way, and that's very
damaging, and it's very visible.
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Addressing the same event on Monday, Prof Abulafia said he was worried about the increasing evidence
that undergraduates when they arrive, even at Cambridge, dont seem to know how to write essays.
People who are undoubtedly extremely bright are grappling with difficulties in that area which once upon a
time would have been inconceivable even among the weaker brethren and sisters, he said.
Last week, the former head of an exam board warned that too many students were gaining A grades in
GCSEs and A-levels after being taught to the test at school.
Jerry Jarvis, who led the Edexcel board for four years, called for a radical overhaul of the grading system
because top marks "no longer automatically mean top students.
Speaking on Monday, Prof Abulafia said that writing essays involved making judgments but too many
pupils struggled to cope because of the emphasis on chasing decent exam grades.
He said that pupils often knew the mark scheme by heart and that is how you ensure you get an A".
"That is not what education is about," he said.
"What we've got to do is educate students and also examiners in handling the sort of work which involves
making judgments, trying to say something that's slightly different about familiar topics."
Addressing the same conference, John McIntosh, a Government adviser, said teachers were increasingly
acting ike robots, teaching children the minimum they needed to pass tests.
Mr McIntosh, former head teacher of the London Oratory School, West London, which was attended by two
of Tony Blair's sons, said staff were working "slavishly" to the demands of the national curriculum and the
demands of league tables.
"We are where we are, partly because, I have to say, of the national curriculum, he said.
"I find that teachers have become increasingly robotic, they have worked slavishly to the national curriculum,
to the prescribed curriculum, they have worked slavishly to the demands of the league tables etc and a lot of
the teaching is not very sort of, instrumental, and children are taught a lot of facts, completely out of context
often, simply the minimum required for whatever the next test or examination will be."
Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2012
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