Originally Posted by ultramarina
I am completely and utterly gobsmacked by the writing samples in this piece:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/06/e...-still-lack-rigor.html?_r=2&ref=nyregion

Truly, my second grader writes better than this:

"Even though their is no physical conflict withen each other. Their are jealousy problems between each other that each one wish could have."

That sentence apparently merits a 3 (passing) on scale of 1 to 6--for a student about to graduate from high school.

I read this article and thought about posting it here. To some extent the poor writing may be the result of poor teaching in K-12, but I think the primary cause is low intelligence in many students. About 1/6 of the population has IQ <= 85, and the writing samples may illustrate the thinking and writing that the left tail of the bell curve is capable of.

"To see what is in front of one's nose needs a constant struggle." - George Orwell