Recently, I had opportunity to read a print copy of an article published by a local high school's newspaper. While the student writer did her best to convey the message she desired to convey, yet another message was conveyed simply because the article contained, under school logo and name, more than a couple grammatical mistakes and a less than accurate portrayal of the topic discussed.

As stated in the May/June 2008 edition of the Illinois School Board Journal, "81 percent believe high school graduates are deficient in written communication." Whether such belief is true or misguided, it is little wonder it exists, given test results and other documentation.

Whether a local high school English or journalism class, a small town newspaper or a global competitor in publishing, most have specific writing standards that must be met prior to publication and for which their employers assume at least partial responsibility.

As stated by Principal Rolf Sivertsen, "It is hard to envision the United States assuming a secondary role in engineering, economics, innovation or technology. However, the country that placed man on the moon, created nuclear energy and invented the light bulb faces a wide array of urgent international challenges."

To meet such challenges, schools should be prepared to realize that both academic and vocational education have their places and work to do and, then, do better than the quoted statistic for American students, i.e. 24th of 29 in basic math literacy.

Wilma Jean Kindle, Bloomington