The fruits of labor

I am a college instructor of American Literature and Expository Writing for multilingual students. Students who come to my class are preparing to transfer to a mainstream university graduate program. These students are required to pass the dreaded TOEFL exam which tests their English competency and readiness for a rigorous graduate program in the United States.

When I first started my current teaching position, the curriculum was quite dull. It emphasized test taking strategies and reduced the literature content in reading instruction. I have a profound love of literature and hearing colleagues publicly state that literature has no place in reading courses was a complete shock. For my Master Degree capstone (the equivalent of a thesis; only more difficult), I decided to design and implement a curriculum based on the literary arts to help improve critical thinking and analysis in English. Mind you, this is for multilingual students. For most, English is their third language. The primary goal was to prepare students to actively participate in a university course. The secondary goal was to improve TOEFL scores through literature-based instruction without teaching to the standardized test. When I presented the capstone at the SF State graduate student conference, I omitted the TOEFL study because my students had not yet taken the exam. I could only present on my students' classroom success. 

It has now been a complete year of this study, which I am now re-examining and re-writing to submit for a state-wide professional conference this fall. 

First, a bit about the TOEFL scores. The scores are scaled to meet certain academic levels. No student wants less than a 60 which is required for entrance into a community college. Four-year universities require at least 75 and graduate programs require at least 85. Top tier competitive universities (like Stanford, Harvard, etc) require at least 100. 

Today, the director at my campus gave me the results. He compared the scores between those who took only the TOEFL preparation class with those who took my literature class. Those in the preparation class scored in the mid 70s. Those who took my class scored in the 90s. I was pleasantly surprised. (Let's be honest...I was shocked.) This just reinforces my long held belief that teaching to the test is never a guarantee of academic success nor of any acquired learning.

As this academic year draws to a close next week, my students are now preparing for their transfers. They have been accepted to the following schools: San Francisco State, CSU East Bay, and Academy of Art University. A couple of my students (who are pursuing a B.A.) were told that my class was enough to admit them to San Jose City College and Foothill. TOEFL was not required nor will they ever need to take it when they're ready to transfer to San Jose State.

I've always measured my success by how well my students do. I can honestly say that this has been the most rewarding school year, and I am looking forward to the next.