WashingtonD-Fact Sheet

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Feb 20, 2024

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Business Success Takes a Toll as Entry-Level Writing Skills Decline – Fact Sheet Businesses that rely on the writing skills of its employees are concerned for their futures. College graduates and entry-level employees lack the necessary qualifications and writing competencies to perform their jobs at the standard level resulting in businesses losing time and money in employee training to remedy this deficiency. Facts: - College curriculums are not mandating certain writing proficiency standards that are required in today’s job market. - Educators do not possess the necessary qualifications or skills to teach writing at the required level. - There has been a new emphasis placed on creative writing skills versus proficient writing at the grade school level. - SAT standards surrounding writing proficiency have changed over the last decade. - Informal writing is becoming more popular with the rise of blogging and social media applications. - Screen time is at an all-time high. Data: According to The National Assessment for Educational Process’ 2011 report on writing skills of eighth and 12th graders found that only three percent of both eighth and 12th graders tested at the advanced level for writing. In a survey by the National Assessment of the perceived writing skills of entry level practitioners, practitioners, especially 10+ year veterans, view new college graduates entering PR as less capable writers than desirable. Nearly half of respondents (47.2%) agreed that they have reduced their expectations of the overall writing skills of entry-level practitioners, while only 27.1% said they have not reduced expectations. The 2011 book Academically Adrift, which followed more than 2,300 students through college, found only 50% of seniors felt their writing skills had improved over the course of their four- year education. A report from the Partnership for 21st-Century Skills noted that according to employers, 26.2% of college students had deficient writing skills. The National Commission on Writing’s report on writing skills and the workplace estimates that American businesses spend over $3 billion annually on remedial writing training. The vast majority of this budget, almost $2.9 billion, is being spent on current employees rather than newly hired staff.

Since 1975, the Commission on Public Relations Education has presented standards for public relations education. Its most recent standards for undergraduate education, “The Professional Bond: Public Relations Education and the Practice,” was released in 2006 and have been adopted by colleges and universities throughout the United States and has become a point of reference in other parts of the world. The Commission was composed of public relations educators and practitioners who represented 16 professional associations and societies in public relations and related fields of communications. The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is one of those organizations and provides administrative support to the Commission. Read the full text of “Standards for a Master’s Degree in Public Relations: Educating for Complexity” at www.commpred.org . For more information please contact Deon Washington at deon.washington@paraboliccommunications.com Cole, R. T., Hembroff, L. A., & Corner, A. D. (2009). National assessment of the perceived writing skills of entry-level PR practitioners. Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, 64 (1), 10–26. doi:10.1177/107769580906400102 Goldstein, D. (2017, August 2). Why kids can’t write. The New York Times . Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/02/education/edlife/writing-education-grammar- students- children.html Leal, F. (2012, September 14). Report: U.S. students lack writing skills. The Orange County Register . Retrieved from https://www.ocregister.com/2012/09/14/report-us-students-lack- writing-skills/ Moore, K. (2016, March). Study: Poor writing skills are costing businesses billions. INC . Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/kaleigh-moore/study-poor-writing-skills-are- costing- businesses-billions.html National center for education statistics. (2012). The Nation’s Report Card: Writing 2011 . Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/main2011/2012470.pdf Singer, A. (2017, September). What I know about teaching and learning (with apologies to John Dewey). The Huffington Post . Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/what-i- know-about-teaching-and-learning-with-apologies_us_59ad2844e4b0d0c16bb52677 The national commission on writing in America’s schools and colleges. (2003). The Neglected “R”: The Need for a Writing Revolution . Retrieved from https://www.nwp.org/cs/public/download/nwp_file/21478/the-neglected-r-college-board-nwp- report.pdf?x-r=pcfile_d

The national commission on writing in America’s schools and colleges. (2004). Writing: A Ticket to Work...Or A Ticket Out: A Survey of Business Leaders . Retrieved from https://www.nwp.org/cs/public/download/nwp_file/21479/writing-a-ticket-to-work-or-a-ticket- out.pdf?x-r=pcfile_d Wexler, N. (2015, September 24). Why Americans can’t write. The Washington Post . Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-americans- cant- write/2015/09/24/6e7f420a-6088-11e5-9757-e49273f05f65_story.html? noredirect=on&utm_term=.ebe31d224745

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WashingtonD-Fact Sheet

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