2 ms·
According to me, that sounds like an incredibly dubious measure of "able to read proficiently". If only 4% of students are passing that means something is wrong
by hugh3 16y ago
According to me, that sounds like an incredibly dubious measure of "able to read proficiently". If only 4% of students are passing that means something is wrong with the test, because experience tells us that the majority of people are quite capable of reading normal passages and understanding what they mean.
- Alex3917 16y ago"experience tells us that the majority of people are quite capable of reading normal passages and understanding what they mean." Unfortunately science tells us the opposite. http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/chapters/3b.htm http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/chapters/3b.htm
- dget 16y agoWhat experience? I know quite a few people (not the HN crowd) who are reasonably smart, but give them a newspaper editorial by itself and they'll be lost. Not 96% of people I know, but a decent amount.
- hugh3 16y agoBecause they lack the ability to read, or because they lack background knowledge on the subject of the editorial? Take, for instance, today's editorial in the Telegraph (of Calcutta): http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:qrMr6hxqGJ8J:www.telegraphindia.com/1070317/asp/opinion/story_7527382.asp+the+telegraph+editorial&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:qrMr6hx... I'm pretty lost trying to read that. If I didn't keep up with US politics I'd be equally lost trying to read the New York Times.