The state Education Department is about to require high school students to take a mandated essay test in addition to the "objective" tests already required. ("Some research required," April 23). Essay tests should have been required all along.
Harry Overstreet, a 19th-century social philosopher and educator in his major work, "The Mature Mind," lists the ability to write well among the signs of maturity. According to Overstreet, a mature person has a clear mind and can express himself clearly. Objective tests for the most part require only remembering facts, but writing well requires organizing the facts and making sense.
After reading this, I wanted to test the importance of writing well. I devised a simple experiment. On the first day of a semester, I asked my students to write a short essay on their career plans and how taking a sociology course fits into that goal. After collecting the essays, without reading them, I gave them to one of the English professors to grade and give back to me after the finals. There was almost perfect correlation. Those who earned an A on the essay also earned an A in the course, and those with an F also earned an F in the course.
I discussed it with my colleague; we came to the conclusion that those who could not write an essay probably did not understand the textbook and had a harder time understanding the material.
Writing essays might help our youth not only to develop clear thinking but also to understand written text better.
Sandor Balogh
East Greenbush