Comments on: D.C. One-Third Illiterate

By: Pajamas Media

Pajamas Media — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 17:59:15 +0000

A Third of DC Residents Functionally Illiterate?...

James Joyner is surprised at a recent study that says so, but sees another factor: "a bureaucratic agency in the business of pretending that we have a substantial problem with adult illiteracy and seeking places to hold out money in......

By: Tim C

Tim C — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 17:52:50 +0000

It has long been said that Washington is a first world capital trapped in a third world city.

By: Bob M

Bob M — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 10:52:16 +0000

For the family of literacy assessments used in this survey, we're talking about roughly reading at third grade level. In the nation, 21% of adults are below the cut point, but only about 3% can't really read at all (in English -- that's all this survey addresses; some are excellent readers in another language). The rest can decode words, and could read you the questions and answers out loud, if not necessarily fluently. But they have trouble building the mental model of the situation the text is addressing, and reasoning through it to get information and solve problems.

By: Tano

Tano — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 01:06:02 +0000

James,

You are clearly making an unwarranted comparison.

In the article that you quote, they claim that 1/3 are FUNCTIONALLY illiterate, compared to 20% in the rest of the nation.

So your later reference to 99% literacy is clearly talking about a different standard.

Given that the population of DC is 500,000, and the difference between their functional illiteracy rate is 13% (33-20), that means there are an "extra" 65K functional illiterates in DC, compared to what they would have if they were like the rest of the nation. That seems entirely attributable to immigrants.

By: Eric J

Eric J — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 00:33:44 +0000

The study by the State Education Agency, a quasi-governmental office created by the U.S. Department of Education to distribute federal funds for literacy services, was ordered by Mayor Anthony A. Williams in 2003 as part of his four-year, $4 million adult literacy initiative.

So a government agency does a survey and finds that the problem it's supposed to solve is even bigger than they thought. If that's not "Dog-bites-man" and Press-Release Journalism, I don't know what is.

By: Eneils Bailey

Eneils Bailey — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 23:28:13 +0000

“Study finds one-third in D.C. illiterate,”

And the other two-thirds are only marginally literate.

As an inhabitant of fly-over country, I have assumed that for years.

By: Dave Schuler

Dave Schuler — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 23:15:13 +0000

Lots of problems with measuring literacy. For one thing there's no standardized, uniform definition across countries. That results in some countries claiming 90%+ literacy rates when the reality probably is that they're half that.

That said given the definition used for this study I'm surprised the rate of illiteracy is so low. Have you looked at a bus schedule lately?

By: Pajamas Media

Pajamas Media — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

A Third of DC Residents Functionally Illiterate? James Joyner is surprised at a recent study that says so, but sees another factor: “a bureaucratic agency in the business of pretending that we have a substantial problem with adult illiteracy and seeking places to hold out money in support of

By: » OTB News

» OTB News — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

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