Date: 2011-05-19 03:22 pm (UTC)
Good question. The answer is, "when" probably varies between states and between curriculums.

For the record, I looked up the NYC school system's performance standards for Grades 1-3, and they *do* have a separate section covering grammar:

Conventions, Grammar, and Usage of the English Language

a Demonstrate a basic understanding of the rules of the English language in written and oral work.

b Analyze and subsequently revise work to improve its clarity and effectiveness.

(http://schools.nyc.gov/offices/teachlearn/documents/standards/ELA/es/23overview.html)

Translation: they *are* instructing teachers to cover grammar, but they are also implicitly acknowledging that in some classes, it won't be covered. A teacher struggling to teach inner-city Grade 3 students the alphabet is not going to get to nouns and verbs.

The school system is leaving themselves loads of wriggle-room when it comes to students who Just Don't Get It. "Must be able to identify nouns and verbs in a sentence," would be specific and measurable; "must demonstrate a basic understanding" is usefully vague. It allows them to wave-on-by students who are struggling with basic literacy because, after all, they got 51% of their answers right on a grammar worksheet.

And now we're back to the realities of an education system where we do not hold students back if they fail to master the curriculum of a given year.
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