The reading and a thought

The first Goen article that I read, “Critiquing the need to Eliminate Remediation,” discussed how maximize the efficiency of remedial programs while working to improve the readiness of incoming college freshman. The article mentions the Integrated Reading/Writing program as an alternate method of remediation. The program was formed on the basis that if the link between instruction in reading and writing is as crucial as thought, students would reap greater benefits by integrating the two. Originally, students who were scored in the lowest quartile on the English Placement Test started with a 3-unit basic writing course concurrently with a 1-unit reading course. In the following semester, they took another 3-unit basic writing course with another 1-unit reading course. During this time, students had two different writ­ing instructors, two different reading instructors, and four different groups of classmates by the time they entered their first-year composition course. The curriculum of the reading and writing courses was mostly separate. The texts students read in the reading course, and the strategies they learned to guide their reading, were rarely used in the writing course. The IRW program sought to increase the efficiency and practicality of this process. The course tries to break down the barrier between text reception and text production by inviting students to look at a text they read for clues to its production, and a text they produce for clues to how it might be received. An important strategy Goen mentions is K-W-L+ based on what students know (K), what they would like to know (W), what they have learned (L), and pose additional questions (+). The IRW program showed a remarkable retention rates and remediation pass rates. Goen also mentions initiation taken to improve the overall readiness of current high school students through measures such as the Early Assessment Program and the Expository Reading and Writing Course.

Goen’s next article also mentions the IRW. It also goes into more detail concerning the six principles based on the research on basic reading and writing. Integration, where instructors sought to combine strategies and texts used for teaching reading and writing; time, the program’s yearlong course creates time and space for students to develop a sense of community; development, the program allows teachers to quickly identify groups or single students that need closer attention and work with them over the year; academic membership, the program’s inherent design allows students to meet the freshman composition requirement that will count towards graduation; sophistication, teachers can help students become adept at sophisticated literate activities; and purposeful communication, the program doesn’t solely focus on grammatical clarity and essayist forms. Goen also laid out the objectives for the curriculum: 

Understand ways that readers read and writers write in and beyond the university across a range of tasks. 
Develop a metacognitive understanding of the processes involving reading and writing
Understand the rhetorical properties of reading and writing, including purpose, audience, and stance. Understand and engage in reading and writing as a way to make sense of the world; to experience literacy as problem solving, reasoning, and reflecting 
Develop enjoyment, satisfaction, and confidence in reading and writing

The only thing I really questioned was the reluctance of universities to start programs like the IRW. Obviously, it takes funding to do so, but all evidence seems to suggest that the IRW course is a much more efficient way to bring students up to speed. I can understand the universities’ reluctance to implement such programs because I also assumed that prospective college students should be able to read and write proficiently. But I also started at my local community college. It could have been vastly different for me if I had gone straight to a four year college. Although it makes sense that students admitted into a four year university should be able to read and write at the expected level, there are always exceptions. A maximum of a year’s worth of remedial classes seems like a fair chance worth pursuing.