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The disconnect is that the definition of "college-level reading skills" is normative, not empirical. It refers to what a college-educated person "should" be abl
by azernik 10y ago
The disconnect is that the definition of "college-level reading skills" is normative, not empirical. It refers to what a college-educated person "should" be able to read, based on the materials they see in coursework, not on what an actual college graduate can in practice read. Similarly, you'll often see stats showing that the average 10th-grader in so-and-so slice of the student population reads at a 3rd-grade level - meaning that their reading skills are really only up to school materials taught in 3rd grade.
- TorKlingberg 10y agoI would say the term "college-level reading skills" is poorly defined if it's based on some idealalized college graduate rather than real ones.
- jasode 10y agoThe phrase "college-level reading skills" has always been well-defined as a prescribed threshold of literacy rather than describe any college student with any level of reading. If we used your suggested 2nd definition of "real students", the label would be circular and meaningless. (E.g. prerequisites reworded in a bizarre way such as, "Remedial Reading courses support students who do not demonstrate non-idealized reading skill proficiency that real students have."[1],[2]) [1]http://www.hawaii.edu/offices/cc/arpd/instructional.php?action=analysis&college=MAU&year=2014&program=136 http://www.hawaii.edu/offices/cc/arpd/instructional.php?acti... [2]https://www.ccaurora.edu/MyCCA/Advisor/Advising/minimum_assessment_scores_or_%20ACT.pdf https://www.ccaurora.edu/MyCCA/Advisor/Advising/minimum_asse...
- lkbm 10y agoThe alternative definition "any college student with any level of reading" certainly strikes me as a straw man (granted, unintentional one). How about "average reading level of a college student"? Or "average needed to graduate college"? (I'm not saying that is the definition, but I think it's closer to what laymen assume "reading level" refers to.)
- csa 10y ago> How about "average reading level of a college student"? This is a form of normed referencing, and ultimately it becomes a (sometimes rapidly) moving target that makes comparisons difficult. The standard used in the field is criterion referencing (similar to "prescriptive" used by 'jasode). This allows for easier apples-to-apples comparisons. You are correct that they layman understanding is closer to your definition (at least in my experience). The layman understanding that you describe is not the standard in the field.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]