S.D. Students Doing Better as Writers : Education: An increased emphasis on the essay seems to be paying off in area schools. CAP scores show some dramatic increases.

State schools Supt. Bill Honig likes to say that hard work pays off for teachers toiling to improve the writing skills of their students.

In releasing the latest results today of the state’s essay test for eighth-graders, Honig might find no better example of his point than Montgomery Junior High in Linda Vista, where an emphasis on having students write often and on a wide variety of topics resulted in a 77-point gain in the school’s total score on the spring 1990 exam.

The school hired a writing resource teacher last year to work with both teachers and students on how to approach the various types of writing--editorial, autobiography, criticism, among others--tested under the California Achievement Program (CAP) essay exam.

The state Department of Education test, by requiring students to show what they can do rather than selecting an answer on traditional multiple-choice tests, is intended to push students to write frequently and across the curriculum, in science and social studies classes as well as in English. It also encourages teachers themselves to write more carefully.

Montgomery’s strong showing is even more remarkable because a quarter of the school’s students are limited-English-speaking immigrants from either Latin America or Asia.

“It’s just an incredible gain,” said Bob Raines, testing administrator for San Diego city schools. “But it shows what can happen when a school puts a lot more emphasis on writing, and on having the kids do much more practice.”

Overall, schools throughout San Diego County and the state posted modest gains on the fourth-year results of the writing test, a 45-minute exam that requires students to organize their thoughts and write coherent essays on an assigned topic in one of eight categories of writing. The tests are graded by special teams of English teachers on a scale from 1 to 6, in which 6 is considered exemplary and 1 barely competent.

Countywide, the combined score for all students increased 4 points to 276 (out of 400). The state score also rose 4 points, to 259. The San Diego Unified School District--the nation’s eighth-largest urban system--increased 3 points to 259. In Los Angeles County, eighth-graders posted an average score of 236, up six points.

Among San Diego County districts, Rancho Santa Fe, San Dieguito and Poway, all with strong writing programs, remained the top three performing districts. Large gains were made by Vista, Oceanside, Ramona, Santee and Cajon Valley school districts, all of which participate in various writing projects sponsored by the county Office of Education to show that good teaching of writing can compensate in large part for socioeconomic differences among school districts and individual schools.

Within the San Diego district, Taft Junior High increased 31 points and Kroc Middle School 16, both to 300. Memorial Junior High, with a 42% limited-English-speaking student population, nevertheless increased 21 points as a result of more writing programs. The biggest drop was at Gompers Secondary School, where, despite extra teachers and money compared with district averages, the writing scores plummeted 34 points.

Honig released statewide data showing that all ethnic groups increased their scores. The average for Asians jumped from 290 to 300, blacks went from 211 to 218 and Latinos from 218 to 222.

But Honig also cautioned that, despite the steady improvements, fewer than half of all students as yet score above 3, or adequate, on the test.

The writing essay is considered a pioneering exam in the nationwide reform movement to require more essay- and performance-based testing rather than multiple choice. Under CAP, scores for individual students are not collected. Rather, data is compiled for individual schools and districts to measure the state’s educational pulse.

Because of state spending cuts, no CAP tests will be given this year. Gov. Pete Wilson has set aside $10 million in his proposed budget to resume the evaluation program in the 1991-92 school year, but he wants the program to be changed so that students receive scores as well as the schools and districts.