War of the words: In class, grammar rears its ugly head
Time was, young whippersnappers went to ''grammar school," and splitting infinitives was a sin. Then, diagramming sentences went the way of the drive-in movie.
Now grammar may be making a comeback, compliments of the new SAT. The test's requirement that students write an essay has received the bulk of the publicity, but the test also includes multiple-choice grammar questions that count for far more.
That has teachers and test tutors in the Globe West circulation region dusting off grammar textbooks to drill students in the nuts and bolts of language mechanics.
Bob Marusa, a Marlborough High School English teacher who coordinates the system's English curriculum for grades 6 through 12, threw out his grammar books about a decade ago. Now, with the advent of the new SAT, he wishes he hadn't.
''The gurus of education said the best way to learn grammar is by writing, but now people are reconsidering. We need to get kids ready for this test," he said.
For grammar advocates who for years have decried declining English standards, the renewed focus is long overdue.
Kate Walsh, president of the National Council on Teacher Quality in Washington, D.C., said colleges have become ''tired of incoming students who can't string sentences together" and pressed for changes in the SAT that would strengthen writing skills.
For years, schools have shunned formal grammar instruction for fear that enforcing rules would stifle students' creative expression and hurt their confidence, Walsh said. Students would never appreciate the written word with teachers carping about parallel construction, the theory went.
Educators came to see grammar as arbitrary and authoritarian and decided that students best learned the mechanics of writing not as a stand-alone subject, but by reading and writing.
In 1985, the National Council of Teachers of English sounded the death knell for grammar when it passed a resolution stating that ''the use of isolated grammar and usage exercises not supported by theory and research is a deterrent to the improvement of students' speaking and writing."
Amy Benjamin, president of The Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar and a coauthor of ''Grammar Alive! A Guide for Teachers," said that back when elementary schools were still referred to as grammar schools, students were drilled in standard English.
Now, she said, ''You have more than a generation of teachers who don't know where to begin."
But the combination of the new SAT and heightened emphasis on writing on state standardized tests has sparked a return to the basics, she said.
Many educators still say teaching grammar independently, divorced from reading and writing, would make students' eyes glaze over. Knowing grammatical dos and don'ts is only a means to the end of clear, concise writing, they said.
''Grammar is best reinforced through the writing process," said Karen Leacu LeDuc, assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction, and assessment for the Newton public schools. ''It should be embedded in student writing."
Bill Eisele, of the Summit Educational Group, a Watertown SAT test preparation company, said that tutors there find many Summit students are being introduced to grammar for the first time.
''Teachers aren't correcting papers for syntax and spelling, just style," he said. ''There's not a lot of line editing going on."
The new SAT is proving a boon for the test-prep business, as students eyeing selective colleges flock to pricey tutoring sessions. The new test was first offered March 12, and students will get their next crack May 7 and June 4.
Test prep firms look at the grammar section, which consists of multiple-choice questions that ask students to identify grammatical errors and the best ways to improve sentences and paragraphs, as an efficient way to raise scores. While students can't become good essay writers overnight, they can learn to recognize grammatical mistakes after just a few lessons.
''We can boil it down relatively quickly," said Molly Baab, product manager for Thomson Peterson's, a college test preparation firm.
Jennifer Karan, national director of SAT and ACT programs for Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions, agreed that students are ill prepared for questions that ask them to recognize improper writing and revise sentences and paragraphs.
College Board surveys have found a 13 percent decline in teaching formal grammar in high school in the past decade. Caren Scoropanos, a College Board spokeswoman, predicted the new section and the SAT's importance in college admissions will spur greater attention to the building blocks of writing, and said many educators embrace the change.
''Teachers are saying, 'Finally,' " she said.
Students may not be so happy. Newton North High School junior Rebecca King said her English teacher started including a few grammar questions in lessons to prepare students for the new SAT. Just the mention of the topic produced widespread groans.
King took the SAT last month and thought she fared well on the grammar section, despite having never studied the subject.
''I had never had any grammar before," she said. ''I knew more grammar from Spanish than I did from English." 