Return-Path: <nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id g2EENRu20624; Thu, 14 Mar 2002 09:23:27 -0500 (EST) Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 09:23:27 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <181.50e9914.29c20b86@aol.com> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: AWilder106@aol.com To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-LD:3947] Re: the ceiling effect X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: AOL 4.0 for Mac - Post-GM sub 146 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Status: O Content-Length: 1121 Lines: 21 DEar John, i am SURE that others will weigh in on the questions you ask, and probably a lot more cogently than I, but in regards the ceiling: I have assumed that the ceiling is related to words that are in the main unfamiliar to people in their normal conversational lives, that the words arethose used msotly in books, therefore the vocabulary becomes suddently otu of reach. The reader is atremptin to read words outside a known context, and therefore finds it difficult. I have not tested this out, but I don't have any disconfirming evidence, either. When I worked with the principal at a middle school in Boston we found that the kids appeared to loose ground around the sixth grade. Actually, they didn't loose ground, they just stayed at the same level with no advancement. I would call this the ceiling you mention. The students were children in families with for the most part very limited means, often immigrants, parents many times hadn't finished high school themselves. Also, in Boston, 40% of sudents leave individual schools each year, they may or may not stay in the city. Andrea
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