• fraxix@lemm.ee
    15·
    9 months ago

    This is such a huge percentage that it has to be incorrect, right? Over half of American adults can’t really read? Or am I just vastly underestimating a ‘6th grade level’.

    • Chunk@lemmy.world
      13·
      9 months ago

      I had to look this up because I was thinking the same thing.

      Sixth grade reading entails understanding plot structures, narrative voices, character developments, and the use of language. Students also compare and contrast themes in articles and stories. In the process, your child’s vocabulary should grow by leaps and bounds.

      From https://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/sixth-grade-reading

      I can’t find any definition for 8, 9, or 10th grade reading.

      I found this, where the definition comes from, it the definition is based on a score on a test and doesn’t always seem to have a set of criteria we can look at. https://www.justrightreads.com/reading-levels-explained

      • tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip
        9·
        9 months ago

        I can’t find any definition for 8, 9, or 10th grade reading.

        Check common core standards. For example, grades 9-10 should be able to

        Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.

        and also

        Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work (e.g., how Shakespeare treats a theme or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how a later author draws on a play by Shakespeare).

        • Chunk@lemmy.world
          7·
          9 months ago

          It makes sense. It makes so much sense.

          How can you follow an evolving political situation if you struggle to understand and track how stories develop over time?

          If Fauci says one thing about COVID and then, 1 year’s worth of research later, he said something different that is going to completely confuse these people. They are literally incapable of understanding how stories evolve.

          That’s hard for me to empathize with because that seems like something fundamental to the human mind. It seems like something that everyone should be able to do. But apparently that’s not true.

          • theuberwalrus@lemmy.world
            2·
            9 months ago

            I even see it a lot here in comment threads. People can’t connect ideas and context in things that they’re responding to, and totally miss the entire point. I used to think they were just trolls but now I think it’s truly poor reading comprehension.

    • Blackmist@feddit.ukEnglish
      8·
      9 months ago

      6th grade is what? 10 years old.

      I wouldn’t expect them to be reading War and Peace, but they should be able to easily read The Hobbit or Harry Potter.

      They’re not on Spot the Dog, or putting their fingers under the words as they go.

        • CaptnNMorgan@reddthat.com
          51·
          9 months ago

          6th grade is 11. Unless you have a weird birthday or got held back High School starts around 13-14 years. Maybe you started late? That benefits a lot of kids but most kids graduate highschool at 17/18 not 20.

          • Metacortechs@lemmy.world
            4·
            9 months ago

            Don’t think so, I have a 9 year old who turns 10 in February in the 4th grade in the US. They’ve never been held back, started at the right time etc. That puts us 8 years from graduation, at 18.

            edit: I’m tired and didn’t read your comment correctly. You are right. We’ll start 6th grade at 11. Leaving so everyone can point and laugh. Sorry!

          • Chunk@lemmy.world
            11·
            9 months ago

            Or I misremembered. Sometimes your fellow commenters on Lemmy make mistakes.

        • Blackmist@feddit.ukEnglish
          2·
          9 months ago

          Oh, I was thinking it would be the same as the UK system.

          Even better then. I was reading Lord of the Rings by that age.

      • Captain Aggravated@sh.itjust.works
        3·
        9 months ago

        No shade at putting fingers under the words as they go, sometimes with some fonts and especially fine print it can be easy for your eye to jump up or down a line.

    • Rukmer@lemmy.world
      51·
      9 months ago

      6th grade level is not too bad. A lot of people graduate school and don’t continue reading a lot, or just aren’t inclined to be good at reading.

    • Binomine@lemmy.world
      2·
      9 months ago

      6th grade isn’t bad at all. It is about the same level of reading as a TV sitcom. A person with a 6th grade reading level may be limited in regards to higher education, but reading won’t be an issue in their day to day life or even most career paths. If you aren’t challenging yourself by seeking good media and active reading, it is pretty likely that you will fall to around that level.

    • Ashe@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      31·
      9 months ago

      I’d wager it’s a solid mix of both. A 6th grade level is probably marginally higher than you’re expecting it to be. However, it gets much, much worse than you’d expect in a large portion of the US.