I didn’t look into the details of the survey described in this article. A large international survey that covers literacy is PIAAC[1]. You can read about their ‘levels’ of literacy in one of their reader’s guides[2]. The survey suggested that 17.6% of adults in the US score at level 1 or below (basic vocabulary, ability to extract a single piece of information in a short text) and 12.8% of US adults score at level 4 or 5. People with low literacy tend to struggle with vocabulary, or large blocks of text, and will be slow readers who can’t skim text.
I am bewildered by the low literacy ability of a significant amount of the people I hired. People with advanced degrees; can't take notes, can't really read either. Not idiots, but illiterate. How did they end-up there ? Do we now need to test for literacy in interviews ?
Probably not what the GP meant, but an interesting data point:
CGP Grey is a Youtuber who became well known for deeply-researched videos on subjects of nerdy interest.
Many years after going full-time doing this, he encountered Zettelkasten and realized that "taking notes" is supposed to including paraphrasing, write things in your own words, and making connections to other facts you've found. (Cortex podcast #105)
He thought notes were just the transcription version of using a highlighter in a book: exclusively verbatim quotes, just to save you from rereading the whole book. Synthesizing knowledge was a separate process. He'd carried this belief his whole life — educational Youtuber, high school physics teacher, two college degrees.
He attributes this in part to being raised on standardized testing, where memorizing the teacher's sound bites was how you succeeded.
Taking notes feels so basic that we just assume everyone knows how, and that we ourselves are doing it effectively. I mean, it's just taking notes, how hard is it? But really it's a growable skill where technique matters, and you can plateau very low if no one tells you you're doing it badly.
One sample here, but I hate taking notes and I am not good at it. I have very poor handwriting. I do scribble stuff but it's mostly useful for local, short time sketching of problems and when the issue is so complex I can't keep it all in my head.
Anyway, I am also quite literate(I think) so I am confused by the bundling of note-taking with literacy.
When I asked local tech CEOs in my town what skills they wanted entry-level programmers to have, they said they wanted them to be able to read and write.
I always wonder what it means to have low literacy. I seem to be able to read, but my spelling has always been bad. Am I low, or just below average?
I know I am not stupid, and at least when it comes to software and computers are probably far above average. I always find my self in weird situations working with people who can spell and spot spelling errors so easy, but I am the one explaining how to do something technical or resolve a complex bug in software or how computers / compilers, or computer languages actually work under the hood.
So all that to say, what is literacy? And what part of it do you need to be successful?
In the context of this particular finding, the source [0] defines literacy as
> [..] as a lack of proficiency on the PIAAC, an internationally validated literacy exam. Adults who score below Level 3 for literacy are not considered proficient and are defined as at least partially illiterate in this study. Adults below or at Level-1 literacy may struggle to understand texts beyond filling out basic forms. Drawing inferences or combining multiple sources of texts is likely too difficult. Adults at Level 2 can read well enough to evaluate product reviews and perform other tasks that require comparisons and simple inferences, but they are unlikely to correctly evaluate the reliability of texts or draw sophisticated inferences. Adults at Level 3 and above are considered fully literate in this study. They can reliably evaluate sources, as well as infer sophisticated meaning and complex ideas from written sources.
In other words, it seems like the headline has been sensationalised; if half of the US has a level 3 literacy, I'd say they're not doing too bad at all.
I'm astonished at this POV. When I read that more than half of the country is "unlikely to correctly evaluate the reliability of texts," I see this as evidence that we are indeed doing "too bad."
I suppose this is a textbook glass half full vs glass half empty situation.
> Literacy is broadly defined as the ability to read and write, but it more accurately encompasses the comprehension, evaluation and utilization of information
So I wouldn't stress about your spelling in this context
Ehm, I'm from the EU, being a former globetrotter, living in the EU and... Situation here and in other places of the world it not much different. Yes most adults do know where Tokyo is and where is Central Asia or Perù, but... In substantial literacy terms most have issues reading non-super-dumb articles understanding them, elaborate a not so super-dumb concept in their mind, ...
Most adults do not know the bare minimum about the society they live in, oh sure, they tend to know the last gossip, but nothing about politics, bureaucracy, global changes and so on. They have a poor vocabulary, they can't write decent documents and so on.
how does this actually happen, at the classroom level? Are the kids actually going to school or is it a case they show up and basically teacher can't control what's going in the room?
Classroom level is only one aspect of it though; literacy is learned through exposure and various levels. Another commenter mentioned social media, which is probably a factor too. Low effort high volume comments, indifference to proper spelling ("bcuz u can understand me"), more video / image based than text based, different reading habits. Education is part of it too, in theory we were supposed to read X books per year and write a report on them (in practice, even back then we downloaded and slightly edited the reports from the internets).
> even back then we downloaded and slightly edited the reports from the internets
When was this? It being easy to find completed homework on the internet wasn't a thing 25 years ago, so "even back then" seems to not be that long ago, considering this would have been when you were in middle school. Majority of adults today didn't go to school under those conditions, they had to write those reports or copy from a friend, which of course is easy to notice for teachers.
What's the use of "reading" anymore? It's not like it's hard for us outsiders to spot why your general political and social environment in the US is going haywire.
Readit News
You can find some practical descriptions of low literacy in UX articles like https://uxpamagazine.org/people_who_do_not_read_easily/ or https://gds.blog.gov.uk/2016/02/23/writing-content-for-every...
[1] https://www.oecd.org/en/about/programmes/survey-of-adult-ski... [2] See pages 115-116 of https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/the-survey-of-adult-...
It is hard for me to imagine how someone would be incapable of taking notes. It is something you constantly had to do in school.
CGP Grey is a Youtuber who became well known for deeply-researched videos on subjects of nerdy interest.
Many years after going full-time doing this, he encountered Zettelkasten and realized that "taking notes" is supposed to including paraphrasing, write things in your own words, and making connections to other facts you've found. (Cortex podcast #105)
He thought notes were just the transcription version of using a highlighter in a book: exclusively verbatim quotes, just to save you from rereading the whole book. Synthesizing knowledge was a separate process. He'd carried this belief his whole life — educational Youtuber, high school physics teacher, two college degrees.
He attributes this in part to being raised on standardized testing, where memorizing the teacher's sound bites was how you succeeded.
Taking notes feels so basic that we just assume everyone knows how, and that we ourselves are doing it effectively. I mean, it's just taking notes, how hard is it? But really it's a growable skill where technique matters, and you can plateau very low if no one tells you you're doing it badly.
Anyway, I am also quite literate(I think) so I am confused by the bundling of note-taking with literacy.
Deleted Comment
I know I am not stupid, and at least when it comes to software and computers are probably far above average. I always find my self in weird situations working with people who can spell and spot spelling errors so easy, but I am the one explaining how to do something technical or resolve a complex bug in software or how computers / compilers, or computer languages actually work under the hood.
So all that to say, what is literacy? And what part of it do you need to be successful?
> [..] as a lack of proficiency on the PIAAC, an internationally validated literacy exam. Adults who score below Level 3 for literacy are not considered proficient and are defined as at least partially illiterate in this study. Adults below or at Level-1 literacy may struggle to understand texts beyond filling out basic forms. Drawing inferences or combining multiple sources of texts is likely too difficult. Adults at Level 2 can read well enough to evaluate product reviews and perform other tasks that require comparisons and simple inferences, but they are unlikely to correctly evaluate the reliability of texts or draw sophisticated inferences. Adults at Level 3 and above are considered fully literate in this study. They can reliably evaluate sources, as well as infer sophisticated meaning and complex ideas from written sources.
In other words, it seems like the headline has been sensationalised; if half of the US has a level 3 literacy, I'd say they're not doing too bad at all.
[0] https://www.barbarabush.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/BBFou...
I'm astonished at this POV. When I read that more than half of the country is "unlikely to correctly evaluate the reliability of texts," I see this as evidence that we are indeed doing "too bad."
I suppose this is a textbook glass half full vs glass half empty situation.
I had a classmate in high-school who always got liw marks in the language classes due to spelling errors.
I worked with him on a group project once, and had to correct tons of words which were jumbled up. But apart from that his wprk was very good.
Was years later until I realized he must have had dyslexia.
So yea, that's one way "poor writing skill" might not be an indicator for anything else.
So I wouldn't stress about your spelling in this context
This would also explain why we still have spam when everyone has heard of the Nigerian Prince scam.
It also explains why dark patterns are so popular and why products get dumbed down more and more. Websites look like duplo sets these days.
Most adults do not know the bare minimum about the society they live in, oh sure, they tend to know the last gossip, but nothing about politics, bureaucracy, global changes and so on. They have a poor vocabulary, they can't write decent documents and so on.
Print desert? That's like saying there's a transportation crisis because people can't can't afford horses.
When was this? It being easy to find completed homework on the internet wasn't a thing 25 years ago, so "even back then" seems to not be that long ago, considering this would have been when you were in middle school. Majority of adults today didn't go to school under those conditions, they had to write those reports or copy from a friend, which of course is easy to notice for teachers.
What's the use of "reading" anymore? It's not like it's hard for us outsiders to spot why your general political and social environment in the US is going haywire.
Dead Comment
https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/piaac/measure.asp?section=1&sub_...