<p>
[quote]
Literacy Falls for Graduates From College, Testing Finds
By SAM DILLON Published: December 16, 2005</p>
<p>The average American college graduate's literacy in English declined significantly over the past decade, according to results of a nationwide test released yesterday.</p>
<p>The National Assessment of Adult Literacy, given in 2003 by the Department of Education, is the nation's most important test of how well adult Americans can read.</p>
<p>The test also found steep declines in the English literacy of Hispanics in the United States, and significant increases among blacks and Asians.</p>
<p>When the test was last administered, in 1992, 40 percent of the nation's college graduates scored at the proficient level, meaning that they were able to read lengthy, complex English texts and draw complicated inferences. But on the 2003 test, only 31 percent of the graduates demonstrated those high-level skills. There were 26.4 million college graduates.
<p>The article is short but mentions several possible explanations and differing trends in different demographic groups. (Black and Asian college grad literacy increased, while literacy among hispanic college grads declined most steeply. Presumably, but not explicitly stated in the article, white college grad literacy fell as well.) Decline of pleasure reading in favor of television and Internet as well as the changing characteristic of immigrant families are cited.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The average American college graduate's literacy in English declined significantly over the past decade, according to results of a nationwide test released yesterday.
[/quote]
My literacy has been declining each year for the last 30 years. But especially in the last two or three. So I guess I'm typical.</p>
<p>Roger,
Love your post! I sometimes IM with my kids (even though they're just upstairs) and my daughter uses the abbreviations and slang of others her age but my son is vehemently opposed to u r for you are and all the lol, g2g short cuts out there. He's such a throwback!</p>
<p>Frankly, the article doesn't surprise me. I have been a strong advocate on changing what is required in college from general broad based liberal arts, with requirements that emulate a Chinese menu, to requiring lots of English and/or philosophy and elimitating such required courses as math ( other than business related math), science, jewelry making, and even history, unless that history course emphasizes lots of reading and writing. In fact, I would require an English test as a prerequisite for graduation. Perhaps they can use the SAT writing section as the main test for graduation.</p>
<p>taxguy, I always loved the basket weaving classes!!! Actually, you made me laugh. When I went to college there was a student who was majoring in "textiles". I was always a bit jealous. She never seemed to have any, and I mean any reading/writing assignments. She would spend her days and nights making little projects. She had a portable weaving loom, tons of macrame and tie dye projects. Some printing projects as well. It was really a trade program at a good university! These types of programs have been at universities for years. They are available if you don't want to read and write.</p>
<p>Reading and writing are WAY overrated. Dept. of Labor says that 86% of the jobs that will require a college degree in 2010 won't require a single skill acquired in college. One could probably find the same with jobs that don't require a college degree. </p>
<p>Computer literacy is hugely greater than it was 15 years ago.</p>
<p>Roger said "hrd 2 bleev. w@ cUd cauZ literacy 2 go dwn 4 colleG grads?"</p>
<p>But the article talks about the ability to read something long and complex and make sense of it... I think possibly the kind of ciphering that following a long IM thread over someone's shoulder requires could enhance, rather than degrade, literacy.</p>
<p>However, I did find myself wondering what college was for, if not to provide the opportunity to learn to read and understand something long and complex... but I also wonder what kind of material was used. If it was something in literature for science majors, or vice versa, a lack of skills might be inferred where (in fact) none exists.</p>
<p>Excuse me for I am no expert in grammar, and dislike researching it (just ask tokenadult), but since we are talking literacy, is "hugely greater" literate? I am just asking, I really don't know.</p>
<p>It is grammatical (as would be "significantly greater", "substantially greater", "markedly greater", "infinitely greater", "massively greater"); whether it is literate or not would be your call. As a general rule, one sounds more literate to the degree one avoids single-syllable words (huge) or those of Anglo-Saxon origin (though I think "huge" is actually Old French, as I remember). And on listserves, virtually anything goes that makes sense (and lots that doesn't.)</p>
<p>If "flip" is short for "flippant", is "glib" short for....;)</p>
<p>Thanks. I see now that "hugely" modifies "greater", whereas I was seeing it as redundant, but of course it is not since "greater" could be 'any amount more than'...and "hugely" tells us how MUCH more than.</p>
<p>Thanks again! Learn that at Oxford?</p>
<p>I am sure "glib" is not short for "glibberish"!</p>
<p>Taxguy, When I said that I always loved basket weaving classes I was half kidding too. Hey, most schools have requirements one does not care for. My S is not artsy either and always finds some "creative way" to get around the creative project (so he is being creative in his own way). I was jealous of the student who got to play with macrame all day rather than working on a term paper.</p>
<p>lol - as simple as that huh? I can do it too but it's like walking on stilts -- it takes you where you want to go as well as being on the ground but not so without considerable practice, to avoid sounding...um... stilted. </p>
<p>I have always liked someone who is unafraid to use multisyllabic words, unless it is done to impress, that is it should sound natural. And, I think the best speakers of the English language do sound natural and they make it a pleasure to listen to.</p>