Writing-Proficiency Tests and Remediation: Some Cultural Differences

M Increasingly, universities are establishing writing-proficiency standards for their students, be they native or nonnative speakers of English. The state board of education in the state of Florida, for example, requires that all students, no matter their national origin, pass the same holistically graded essay exam before they can receive an associate degree from a public community college or be accepted as a junior in a state-supported university. In addition, all students must fulfill what is known as the Cordon Rule by completing 12 hours of courses with a heavy emphasis on composition before they have completed 60 undergraduate hours. These requirements also apply to students transferring from out-of-state universities and from private schools. How do international students cope with the requirement that they compete with native speakers of English in writing? In order to find out, the academic records of international students accepted into the lower division of the University of Florida from August 1984 to August 1987 were examined. The results show some interesting differences among nationalities.