RSS Feeds: I Will NOT Dumb Down This Blog
Unlike the mass media in the US, I will not participate in the deliberate dumbing down of America. I recently discovered, while checking this blog's results at the Website Grader and The Blog Readability Test, that the reading level needed to digest the contents of this blog is above the level most people in the US graduate from high school with.
The Results
According to the website grader, this blog has a readability level of college undergraduate. According to the blog readability test, this blog has a readability level of college post graduate. It's understandable. When I took my aptitude tests in high school and the military pre-entrance exams, I was scored with a reading comprehension of 13+, equivalent to a year of college.
I don't agree with the scores given by the web services. They scanned the blog too quickly to have made a determination, considering there are over 1300 posts on this blog. Nevertheless, I realize that most of the content is geared toward people who can read better than what elementary level education provides.
Elementary Level?
I graduated from high school in 1978. I had 2 semesters of language arts (and I don't remember the titles) during the high school years and neither one of them focused on reading. I didn't attend any classes which focused on reading after the 8th grade.
I don't know what the curriculum of American high schools contains these days. My younger son graduated from high school more than 4 years ago. I would estimate he has about a 9th grade reading level — he likes to read novels — despite the fact that he had to have special classes for his learning disabilities for the entire 12 years of school.
It's a very sad state of affairs when students are graduating from high school and can barely read or write. Why does the American education system allow it? It's an even sadder state of affairs when people who read and write English as a second language are more proficient in it than Americans, where the primary language is English. The dumbing down of America has been successful so far.
Conclusions
I often wondered why the number of subscribers to the feeds for this blog remained almost stagnant, increasing at a very slow rate. I no longer have to wonder. It's apparent that the articles aren't digestible by the majority of the people who visit the blog, 70+ percent of which are in the US.
I've read a few articles which tell me I should always write at a reading level that the majority of Internet users can comprehend. I will not. I will NOT dumb down this blog! There will always be occasions where I write like a moron and there will always be occasions when I write like a genius. I've already made my opinions well known: Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation ARE Important When Writing a Blog Post and Words are Power!
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Elementary graders can read my blog. And it hasn't changed despite the many new posts my blog has right now since the first time I checked its readability many months ago.
I suspect it's my simple blog structure. Or maybe the goal is to write it down in a more understandable terms.
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Word for Vista has a readability test, which outputs the grade level at which your document is equivalent to. I've used it once or twice, and I'm proud to boast that my grade level is at college level! :razz:
Regarding your post… I would never expect anyone to write for a less educated audience. You're not doing them any favors, nor those who can comprehend your writing.. Anyone who deliberately dumbs down their writing is only losing their own credibility (in my opinion).
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The tragedy is how much money we pour into failing schools. Kids don't read anymore.