2010 - Public Relations Society of America

Analyzing Student Writing Proficiency and Assessment Measures
in Programs of Mass Communication
Andrew Lingwall, Ph.D.
Clarion University of Pennsylvania
alingwall@clarion.edu
Across higher education institutions in the United States, an established body of evidence
suggests that students are entering programs of mass communication with serious writing
deficiencies. In studies dating back to the 1970s, researchers have documented a steady decline
in students’ writing skills. Some studies have placed the blame on primary and secondary
education, while others have addressed university-level instruction in English or general
education. More recently, researchers have established links between students’ increasing use of
technology -- including Internet use, social media, text messaging -- and a general decline in
writing skills.
The issue is a critical one for faculty and students alike in programs of mass
communication, including those that offer study in public relations. Writing is arguably the most
important skill that graduates bring to the mass communication field in general, and to the public
relations profession in particular. Students who are weak writers cannot succeed in their
coursework or careers, regardless of their skills in social media or other new technologies.
Amid this reality, public relations educators are beset with issues that work against their
best efforts to produce good writers. Too many students show up as university freshmen without
adequate writing instruction from high school, and may feel entitled to good grades regardless of
their performance. Today’s world of social media and text messaging seems to stress immediacy
and gratification over critical thinking. University administrators are often more concerned with
boosting enrollments and cutting budgets than with screening out unqualified students or limiting
class sizes. Faculty members cannot qualify the best students and teach well in a culture of
entitlement, grade inflation, and generalized student apathy toward writing. Burgeoning
workloads in grading, paper editing, and remedial writing instruction have only added to an
overall sense among faculty that they are fighting a losing battle.
It is therefore notable that relatively little research has been done within the last decade to
explore the major writing-related issues facing faculty members in mass communication
programs, and how faculty are attempting to better assess and improve student writing. This
study builds upon the demonstrated need for a better understanding of these issues, and for
practical writing assessment and improvement measures that faculty can implement in their own
departments, schools and colleges.
Review of Literature
In examining the writing skills students bring into mass communication programs, it is
useful to review their formative sources of writing instruction, and factors that have influenced
their development as writers along the way. Some of these include primary and secondary
education, technology, and the undergraduate university curriculum. It is also useful to review
measures that mass communication programs have used to assess and improve student writing.
Educational Shortcomings
According to Bauerlin (2010), student scores on three national assessments of student
reading and writing ability have decreased steadily since the 1990s. On the National Assessment
120