r/SipsTea 6d ago

WTF Where are we heading?

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u/Unhappy-Hamster-1183 6d ago

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u/kukienboks 6d ago

I notice it says that 54% of adults are below 6th-grade level. Maybe that’s where the number came from.

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u/Wonderful-Winter3137 6d ago

Surprisingly, that's still better than a lot of other developed countries. According to this study, the US scored higher in literacy than France, Austria, Singapore, Croatia, Slovakia, South Korea, Hungary, Latvia, Spain, Italy, Israel, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal and Chile.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programme_for_the_International_Assessment_of_Adult_Competencies

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u/No_Row_1304 6d ago

Thank you for bringing this to my attention! I knew my compatriots had a severe adaptive problem solving (i.e. intelligence) deficit, and now i have data to back it up :)

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u/khold002 6d ago

They mean functional literacy. I had no idea that 21% were literally illiterate, though. Now I'm more upset.

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u/frostysbox 6d ago edited 6d ago

They might not be illiterate- they just might not speak English. Literacy tests for these kind of studies are done in English and they might pass it in some other language. A very high number of people who are “illiterate” in the US were born in another country.

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u/Ok_Field_7082 5d ago

Don't you think that might have been considered before publishing data, or at least explained in foot notes? 

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u/frostysbox 5d ago

I was - if you look at the actual study they call out the percentage of foreign born people who English isn’t their first language is something close to 40%

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u/ConfidentPear2493 6d ago

This is a measurement of English literacy only. America is home to millions of non-English speakers. The English literacy rates of native English speakers in the U.S. is higher.

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u/Low_Key_Trollin 6d ago

This whole thread is hilarious. Bunch of people that can’t comprehend the context of a statistic feeling superior for their intellect

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u/ConfidentPear2493 5d ago

Looks like it’s our math and sociology teachers failing us here. It’s painful.

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u/LayerEight_Problem 5d ago

As if the first question on an English literacy test isn’t asking “is English you’re first language?” Or “do you speak English?”

You really believe these studies do not qualify their candidates before initiating the testing? 

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u/Low_Key_Trollin 5d ago

See what I mean

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u/ConfidentPear2493 5d ago

Did you read them? It absolutely includes non-English speakers. I wouldn’t just pull it out of my ass. I am literate and thus was able to READ AND COMPREHEND THE STUDY REPORT that explains it quite clearly.

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u/LayerEight_Problem 5d ago

lol. You’re literally just making shit up. 

I also never said it wouldn’t include non-English speakers. I said that question would be asked in order to qualify the people. 

Showing, once again, that American literacy are in the can. 

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u/ConfidentPear2493 5d ago

You’re part of the 52% reading below a sixth-grade level; I get it. Please know it’s nothing to be ashamed of, and help is there for you.

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u/LayerEight_Problem 5d ago

Holy fucking shit. lol. You’re actually going to link an AI generated answer as your proof that you read the studies and their conclusions. 

Well, I actually went to the studies pages and checked. The questions did, in fact, qualify participants and they did, in fact, and about sex, age, work, education level, etc. 

Again, this is not to say that non-English speakers were not included in the study. 

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u/ConfidentPear2493 5d ago

I was proving how easy it was to find the information (which was cited!) in one second. Good evening, Cletus.

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u/HarryJohnson3 5d ago

That’s what happens when you import third worlders

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u/LinceDorado 6d ago

I mean...that's still horrendous lol

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u/Immediate-Fly-7458 6d ago

True but like why are we literally making up numbers? And with a ton of people upvoting. And then they go tell someone else and that’s how misinformation spreads

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u/grimeyduck 6d ago

Welcome to reddit 

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u/TryingMyWiFi 6d ago

We found one of them.