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Saturday, July 10, 2010

Education Research Report: A significant proportion of native English speakers are unable to understand some basic sentences

Education Research Report: A significant proportion of native English speakers are unable to understand some basic sentences

significant proportion of native English speakers are unable to understand some basic sentences

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Research into grammar by academics at Northumbria University suggests that a significant proportion of native English speakers are unable to understand some basic sentences.

The findings -- which undermine the assumption that all speakers have a core ability to use grammatical cues -- could have significant implications for education, communication and linguistic theory.

The research, conducted by Dr Ewa Dabrowska, showed that basic elements of core English grammar had not been mastered by some native speakers.

The project assumed that every adult native speaker of English would be able to understand the meaning of the sentence:

THE RISING PRICE OF INEQUALITY - HOW INADEQUATE GRANT AID LIMITS COLLEGE ACCESS AND PERSISTENCE

REPORT TO CONGRESS AND THE SECRETARY OF EDUCATION

ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

Full report

In the Higher Education Amendments of 1986 (P.L. 99-948), Congress created the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance to be an objective, nonpartisan source of expertise and advice on student aid policy. Its legislative charge is to make recommendations to Congress and the Secretary of Education that maintain and improve college access and persistence for needy students.

Through four administrations, eleven Congresses, and four reauthorizations, the Committee has made every effort to fulfill this mandate. In the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (P.L.110-315), Congress reauthorized the Committee and charged it to monitor and report annually on the condition of college access and persistence through 2014. Specifically, the annual report is required to contain analyses and policy recommendations regarding the adequacy of total grant aid and the postsecondary enrollment and graduation rates of low- and moderate-income students.

The major focus of this first report is on 4-year college enrollment and bachelor’s degree attainment, not because every high school graduate must or should enroll in a 4-year college or pursue a bachelor’s degree, but because