The sophomore class will be strengthening their grammar and writing skills this year, with an emphasis on developing better sentences, paragraphs, and essays through developed grammar, punctuation, and mechanic skills. They will also read for comprehension, entertainment, and development.
The Arkanasas Department of Education will change the Literacy End of Course Exam to the sophomore year in 2012. With this change a larger responsibility will be given to the eighth and nineth grade teachers to help students develop better reading and writing skills. The reading skills will include comprehension, organization, inference, literary terms, and reading speed. This a timed exam, and can cause great deals of stress to students who may be good readers and may comprehend well, but do not test well under such conditions. However, the job of the teacher is to help students find ways to develop better reading skills and timing skills to insure a more relaxed and successful exam.