Montana May Implement Writing Test as College Requirement - Brief Article

Black Issues in Higher Education, June 22, 2000

BOZEMAN, Mont. -- The Montana Board of Regents here is considering requiring high school students to pass a writing test to enter the state's four-year colleges.

College students also would be required to prove they can write well before being allowed to graduate. The object is to maintain educational quality and eliminate remedial classes, says Dr. Joyce Scott, deputy commissioner of higher education.

The regents discussed the proposal for the first time at their meeting last month in Kalispell. Regents Richard Roehm, of Bozeman, and Deborah Wetsit, of Billings, say they are concerned about whether such a test could be fair, and whether it would create a barrier to higher education for some students.

"Whenever you give examinations, how fair are they, especially for minority students or people from different backgrounds?" Roehm says. "A person can be as smart as anything, and if they're from a different culture, they could be viewed as not sharp, and that's not fair."

If a writing test can be made that's fair and promotes quality, then it would be "a good deal," he adds.

Members of the "majority, rule-making culture" have to be sure they're not "inadvertently creating barriers," says Wetsit, the only American Indian on the Board of Regents. "I get real concerned when we set up more gates to access to the University System."

Wetsit adds that she is also concerned about the impact on rural students, the time and expense it would take to evaluate writing tests, and the fact that faculty members aren't yet aware of the proposal.