Literacy and reading performance in the United States, from 1880 to the present
TL;DR: The authors reviewed literacy and reading achievement trends over the past century and place current debates in a historical perspective, and suggested that students' reading performance at a given age remained stable until the 1970s and much of it can be explained by the changing demographics of test-takers.
Abstract: THE AUTHORS review literacy and reading achievement trends over the past century and place current debates in a historical perspective. Although then-and-now studies are methodologically weak, they suggest that students' reading performance at a given age remained stable until the 1970s. The test score decline that then occurred was not as great as many educators think, and much of it can be explained by the changing demographics of test-takers. The decline pales when compared to the tremendous increase in the population's educational attainment over the past 40 years. However, the strategy of ever-increasing schooling to meet ever-increasing literacy demands may have run its course. High school dropout rates are increasing, and educational attainment has leveled off. Researchers have identified substantial mismatches between workers' skills and job demands, and between job and school literacy skills. In spite of their flaws, functional literacy tests suggest that 20 percent of the adult population, or 30 million people, have serious difficulties with common reading tasks. Upgrading literacy skills now requires new initiatives by coalitions of educators, community groups, employers, and government agencies.
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TL;DR: The need for patient education leaflets to be written at a level appropriate for the majority of the population is reinforced, as levels exceed the reported reading grade level of the adult population by several years, thus many may not understand these drug information materials.
Abstract: Summary Patient information materials from nine drug information sources were evaluated for readability. The following sources were assessed: American Association of Retired Persons Medication Information Leaflets for Seniors; American Medical Association Patient Medication Instructions; American Society of Hospital Pharmacists Medication Teaching Manual: A Guide for Patient Counseling and The New Consumer Drug Digest; Canadian Pharmaceutical Association's Supplementary Information on Medication; Dorothy Smith's Medication Guide for Patient Counseling; NARD Patient Information Leaflets; United States Pharmacopeia Convention Patient Drug Education Leaflets; and United States Pharmacopeia Drug Information, Volume II: Advice for the Patient 1986. The 10 most commonly prescribed drugs in 1986 were chosen for evaluation. The SMOG readability formula was used to compare these sources. This formula evaluates readability based on average sentence length and average word length. The SMOG formula determines the reading grade level that a person must have reached to fully comprehend written material. The reading grade level for the U.S. adult population varies from study to study, ranging from less than fourth-grade level to ninth-grade level. Our results indicate a mean grade level ranging from 9.6 for the AARP material to 12.9 for NARD. Readability grade level for information on individual drugs ranged from 9 to 14. These levels exceed the reported reading grade level of the adult population by several years, thus many may not understand these drug information materials. This study reinforces the need for patient education leaflets to be written at a level appropriate for the majority of the population.
13 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the impetus for and impact of a high-stakes assessment plan and reform initiative, North Carolina's ABC Plan for Public Education, from the perspective of state level policymakers and local level implementers.
Abstract: This case study examined the impetus for and impact of a high‐stakes assessment plan and reform initiative, North Carolina's ABC Plan for Public Education, from the perspective of state level policymakers and local level implementers. It extends the findings of two previous studies (Miller, Hayes, & Atkinson, 1997a; 1997b) examining how state policymakers informed local level implementers (administrators and practitioners) about decisions leading up to the reform initiative. Holding teachers and schools accountable for students’ test scores was clearly understood by all participants in the study to be the centerpiece of the reform. As the initiative was implemented, practitioners received little support for aligning their instructional practices so that they were not only congruent with the reform, but were also supportive of meaningful teaching and learning. After one year, implementation of The ABC's of Public Education resulted in an adversarial relationship between local level implementers an...
13 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an epidemiologischen Stichprobe Jugendlicher und junger Erwachsener wird die Bedeutung verschiedener Definitionsansatze zur umschriebenen Lese- bzw. Rechtschreibstorung dargestellt and diskutiert.
Abstract: Zusammenfassung: Fragestellung: An einer epidemiologischen Stichprobe Jugendlicher und junger Erwachsener wird die Bedeutung verschiedener Definitionsansatze zur umschriebenen Lese- bzw. Rechtschreibstorung dargestellt und diskutiert. Methode: Durch Anwendung am gleichen Datensatz wird untersucht, wie sich unterschiedliche Modelle, Definitionen und methodische Vorgehensweisen auf die empirischen und theoretisch zu erwartenden Fallhaufigkeiten der Rechtschreibschwache auswirken. Die praktische Bedeutung verschiedener normorientierter Falldefinitionen wird anhand inhaltlicher Uberlegungen und empirischer Ausenkriterien beurteilt. Ergebnis: An inhaltlichen Kriterien orientierte Falldefinitionen fuhren in der vorliegenden Studie zu Pravalenzzahlen zwischen 6 bis 9%.
13 citations
01 Jan 1999
TL;DR: It is estimated that approximately 25 percent of the elementary age school children have some type of reading problem as discussed by the authors, which is not surprising, therefore, that millions of dollars are spent on specialized programs such as Title I and other remedial reading programs to make children better readers.
Abstract: It is estimated that approximately 25 percent of the elementary age school children have some type of reading problem (Stedman & Kaestle, 1987). It is not surprising, therefore, that millions of dollars are spent on specialized programs such as Title I and other remedial reading programs to make children better readers. It is also recognized that early identification is essential if remediation is to be effective. If these children are not identified early for remedial purposes, a vicious cycle sets in resulting in the Matthew Effect in education (Stanovich, 1986; Walberg & Tsai, 1983).
12 citations
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Book•
01 Jul 1983TL;DR: In this article, the piedmont: textile mills and times of change, and the teaching of how to talk in Trackton and Roadville, are discussed, as well as the teachers as learners and the townspeople.
Abstract: Photographs, maps, figures, tables, texts Acknowledgments Prologue Note on transcriptions Part I. Ethnographer Learning: 1. The piedmont: textile mills and times of change 2. 'Gettin' on' in two communities 3. Learning how to talk in Trackton 4. Teaching how to talk in Roadville 5. Oral traditions 6. Literate traditions 7. The townspeople Part II. Ethnographer Doing: 8. Teachers as learners 9. Learners as ethnographers Epilogue Epilogue - 1996 Notes Bibliography Index.
4,564 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the piedmont: textile mills and times of change, and the teaching of how to talk in Trackton and Roadville, are discussed, as well as the teachers as learners and the townspeople.
Abstract: Photographs, maps, figures, tables, texts Acknowledgments Prologue Note on transcriptions Part I. Ethnographer Learning: 1. The piedmont: textile mills and times of change 2. 'Gettin' on' in two communities 3. Learning how to talk in Trackton 4. Teaching how to talk in Roadville 5. Oral traditions 6. Literate traditions 7. The townspeople Part II. Ethnographer Doing: 8. Teachers as learners 9. Learners as ethnographers Epilogue Epilogue - 1996 Notes Bibliography Index.
4,208 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1981
TL;DR: The Mismeasure of man was immediately hailed as a masterwork, the ringing answer to those who would classify people, rank them according to their supposed genetic gifts and limits, and yet the idea of innate limits-of biology as destiny-dies hard, as witness the attention devoted to The Bell Curve, whose arguments are here so effectively anticipated and thoroughly undermined by Stephen Jay Gould.
Abstract: When published in 1981, The Mismeasure of Man was immediately hailed as a masterwork, the ringing answer to those who would classify people, rank them according to their supposed genetic gifts and limits. And yet the idea of innate limits-of biology as destiny-dies hard, as witness the attention devoted to The Bell Curve, whose arguments are here so effectively anticipated and thoroughly undermined by Stephen Jay Gould. In this edition Dr. Gould has written a substantial new introduction telling how and why he wrote the book and tracing the subsequent history of the controversy on innateness right through The Bell Curve. Further, he has added five essays on questions of The Bell Curve in particular and on race, racism, and biological determinism in general. These additions strengthen the book's claim to be, as Leo J. Kamin of Princeton University has said, "a major contribution toward deflating pseudo-biological 'explanations' of our present social woes."
3,879 citations
Book•
16 Nov 1972
TL;DR: Most Americans say they believe in equality. But when pressed to explain what they mean by this, their definitions are usually full of contradictions as mentioned in this paper. But most Americans also believe that some people are more competent than others, and that this will always be so, no matter how much we reform society.
Abstract: Most Americans say they believe in equality. But when pressed to explain what they mean by this, their definitions are usually full of contradictions. Many will say, like the Founding Fathers, that “all men are created equal.” Many will also say that all men are equal “before God,” and that they are, or at least ought to be, equal in the eyes of the law. But most Americans also believe that some people are more competent than others, and that this will always be so, no matter how much we reform society. Many also believe that competence should be rewarded by success, while incompetence should be punished by failure. They have no commitment to ensuring that everyone’s job is equally desirable, that everyone exercises the same amount of political power, or that everyone receives the same income.
2,315 citations