Why “grit” failed

by Erica L. Meltzer | Aug 4, 2024 | Blog

For a while, the notion of “grit” was all the rage in edu-land, but recently it seems to have taken a backseat in the collective consciousness.

Nevertheless, it’s been in mind recently for a couple of reasons: first, because I happened to pick up UPenn psychology professor Angela Duckworth’s eponymous 2016 best-seller while browsing in a bookstore not too long ago, but also because I’ve been thinking about the idea of fixed vs. malleable (alterable) traits.

In the book, Duckworth distinguishes between “fixed” mindset, in which talents and other abilities are held to be innate and unchangeable; and “growth” mindset, in which those capabilities can be learned and developed through practice. The author identifies grit, or a combination of persistence, as the key factor that distinguishes the performance of the highest achievers in a variety of fields (sports, music, etc.) from those at a lower level. (more…)

What does freshman composition look like in 2024?

by Erica L. Meltzer | May 18, 2024 | Blog

In my previous post, I looked at how universities’ reliance on adjuncts and the resulting grade inflation in freshman composition classes trickles back to the high school level, depressing minimum SAT/ACT English scores (“benchmarks”) correlated with earning passing grades in college writing courses. I think, however, that there is another major factor at play at as well here: not only are composition instructors pressured to award higher-than-merited grades, but at many institutions, the classwork itself has become less demanding. This phenomenon seems especially pronounced at less-selective college, which enroll the vast majority of students with low scores.

While writing the original piece, I got curious about the general state of freshman composition and looked up courses at a wide swath of U.S. universities, public and private, of varying degrees of selectivity. After reading through numerous course descriptions, I started to notice a pattern emerging: highly competitive private and public schools generally emphasize a fairly traditional set of academic writing skills—essentially what would be expected from an introductory college-writing class— even if they present them within a framework of contemporary topics. Less prestigious schools, in contrast, seem to be moving toward a definition of composition that de-emphasizes academic writing, and that in some cases is expanded to encompass even non-writing activities such as podcasts and films. (more…)

“However” vs. “though”: similar, but not the same

by Erica L. Meltzer | Mar 2, 2024 | Blog

Among conjunctions (transitional words), however and though pose a particular challenge because they are so similar in terms of both of both meaning and usage. But while there is significant overlap between them, they are not entirely identical from a grammatical standpoint. The fact that they can be used interchangeably in some situations does not mean that one can always be substituted for the other.

However is a conjunctive adverb. It can be used in the following ways:

• To begin a sentence, followed by a comma

Correct: Many of the writing surfaces used in the past deteriorated quickly. However, some clay tablets have endured for thousands of years.

• In the middle of a sentence between two commas (non-essential)

Correct: Many of the writing surfaces used in the past deteriorated quickly. Some clay tablets, however, have endured for thousands of years.

• At the end of a sentence, after a comma

Correct: Many of the writing surfaces used in the past deteriorated quickly. Some clay tablets have endured for thousands of years, however.

Though can act as two different parts of speech.

As a subordinating conjunction, it can begin a dependent clause (fragment) that cannot stand on its own as a sentence.

            Fragment: Though many of the writing surfaces used in the past deteriorated quickly.

The dependent clause can be placed before an independent clause to form a complete sentence.

Correct: Though many of the writing surfaces used in the past deteriorated quickly, some clay tablets have endured for thousands of years.

The order of the clauses can also be flipped so that the dependent clause begun by though comes second. Because though is a “strong” subordinating conjunction, a comma is placed before it.

Correct: Some clay tablets have endured for thousands of years, though many of the writing surfaces used in the past deteriorated quickly, 

Note that when though is used to begin a dependent clause, it is not followed by a comma—regardless of where it appears in the sentence.

Incorrect: Though, many of the writing surfaces used in the past deteriorated quickly, some clay tablets have endured for thousands of years.

Incorrect: Some clay tablets have endured for thousands of years, though, many of the writing surfaces used in the past deteriorated quickly,

Though can also be used as an adverb.

Like however, though can be used non-essentially in the middle of a sentence. In this case, it must be surrounded by commas (one before, one after).

Correct: Many of the writing surfaces used in the past deteriorated quickly. Some clay tablets, though, have endured for thousands of years.

It can also be placed after a single comma at the end of a sentence.

Correct: Many of the writing surfaces used in the past deteriorated quickly. Some clay tablets have endured for thousands of years, though.

To reiterate: In the two adverb usages above, though is completely interchangeable with however. This means that the SAT and ACT will never give you both options and ask you to choose between them.

But here’s where things get tricky. While though is an adverb, it is not, technically speaking, a conjunctive adverb in the same way that however is.

Why? Because the main characteristic of a conjunctive adverb is that it can be used as an introductory word at the start of an independent clause (after a period or semicolon), followed by a comma. It is perfectly acceptable to use however this way—but not though.

So while we can do this:

Correct: Many of the writing surfaces used in the past deteriorated quickly. However, some clay tablets have endured for thousands of years.

Correct: Many of the writing surfaces used in the past deteriorated quickly; however, some clay tablets have endured for thousands of years.

We cannot do this:

Incorrect: Many of the writing surfaces used in the past deteriorated quickly. Though, some clay tablets have endured for thousands of years.

Incorrect: Many of the writing surfaces used in the past deteriorated quickly; though, some clay tablets have endured for thousands of years. 

As an SAT/ACT shortcut, know that period/semicolon + though + comma = wrong.

Next, there’s yet another twist: While though cannot substitute for however as a conjunctive adverb as an introductory word, it can still follow a period or semicolon (or even a colon) when it begins a new sentence as a subordinating conjunction.

Correct: A remarkable number of inscribed clay tablets from ancient Mesopotamia have survived until the present day. [Dependent] Though many other writing surfaces used throughout history have deteriorated, [Independent] clay has proven to be the most durable surface ever employed.

Correct: A remarkable number of inscribed clay tablets from ancient Mesopotamia have survived until the present day; [Dependent] though many other writing surfaces used throughout history have deteriorated, [Independent] clay has proven to be the most durable surface ever employed.

You can also think of it this way: Any word that can begin a sentence can be placed after a period or semicolon. Thus, the fact that though can be placed after either of these punctuation marks does not automatically make it a conjunctive adverb.

Now, let’s look at how this concept might appear on the dSAT. (Note: this question is based on Blue Book Test #1, Module 2, Question 22, with a slight tweak.)

Many of the writing surfaces used by ancient civilizations disintegrated shortly after being inscribed. A striking number of Mesopotamian tablets made from clay have _______ unlike other natural materials employed by ancient writers, clay deteriorates at a very slow rate, and so many tablets created from it have remained in strikingly good condition.

(A) survived, though;  
(B) survived. Though,
(C) survived, though,
(D) survived though

To be clear: (A) and (B) are not asking test-takers to distinguish between two grammatically acceptable uses of though. Rather, (B) is automatically incorrect on grammatical grounds—though is not a conjunctive adverb equivalent to however, and it cannot follow a semicolon and be followed by a comma.

In addition, there is no answer here that correctly uses though as a subordinating conjunction (to begin a dependent clause; at the start of a sentence, not followed by a comma). So the question of whether this word is acting as an adverb or a subordinating conjunction is moot.

The point of the question, rather, is to identify that a contradictor should be placed at the end of the second sentence, in order to establish a contrast with the first sentence. Otherwise, the logic of the passage gets wonky. The only option that places though in the right spot is (A).

(C) does not work because the two commas around though signal a non-essential usage, which is grammatically acceptable in some instances but not this one. If the word is crossed out, we are left with a massive run-on. (D) creates the same problem in a more direct fashion.

Digital SAT math timing, Common Core, and the “deep understanding” trap

by Erica L. Meltzer | Jan 23, 2024 | Blog

A couple of months ago, before I got sucked back into the black hole of my SAT vocabulary book, I wrote a post about the importance of time constraints in standardized testing. In it, I briefly discussed some reasons for why current students find timed assignments/assessments so overwhelming; and in particular, I voiced my concern that the loosening of academic standards during the pandemic resulted in pupils’ becoming (further) accustomed to endlessly flexible deadlines and high grades for “fuzzy” assignments such as posters, Power Points, and projects designed to disguise gaps in basic subject knowledge.

There are additional factors that play a role in declining expectations and concurrent SAT score inflation, however—and the situation long predates the pandemic. I originally started to discuss it in my previous post, but the issues seemed too complex and distracting to really get into, so it made more sense to explore them in a separate piece.

Let m start here. In terms of the timing changes on the digital SAT, the increase in the amount of time allotted to each Math question is really striking: from 25 minutes for 20 questions on the paper-based exam to 35 minutes for 22 questions. (Although slightly more time is given per Writing questions than on the paper-based test, Writing is now rolled in with Reading, which is generally more time consuming.) The more I thought about it, the more the disparity seemed odd—why give so much more time for Math questions than for Reading and Writing? (more…)

Why time constraints are important on the SAT and ACT

by Erica L. Meltzer | Oct 19, 2023 | Blog

Among the alterations made to the digital version of the SAT are changes to the amount of time per question. The current, paper-based version allows for just over a minute per question in Reading (65 mins./52 questions) and Math (25 mins./20 questions) vs. a bit under a minute for Writing (35 mins./44 questions).

However, the digital exam greatly increases the amount of time for both Math (35 mins./22 questions) and Writing (now integrated into Reading/Writing modules, with 32 mins./27 questions), whereas the amount of time per reading question actually decreases very slightly.

From an equity standpoint, the proportion of students with questionable diagnoses now receiving extra time has become so high that the move is perhaps designed to tacitly level the playing field somewhat. At the same time, by offering more generous timing, the College Board is obviously seeking to salvage what it can of the shrinking testing market and lure more students away from the ACT, whose timing has not changed in decades, and whose average scores are now being at a 30-year low. (Note that the College Board’s periodic “recentering” of the SAT scoring scale has prevented the organization from having to release a comparable report). The more forgiving Math timing is also presumably designed to help more students meet the benchmark—50 points higher than the Reading/Writing one—and thus to bolster graduation rates in states where the SAT is used as a high-school exit test. But if the move relieves some of the pressure on students, it may also make test results less meaningful. (more…)