Study: Average member of Congress speaks at 10th grade level

Summary: Dumb people elect dumb people. Smart people fall in faint.

 

Honestly, why does it matter if our congressmen can speak eloquently and at a "higher" level?

When Republicans spoke at a higher level before 2005, was there a difference in Republican's ideology then and now?

 

I don't think this is particularly a negative. The goal of communication is not to sound smart, but to speak clearly and get your point across. So communication should be designed with the audience in mind - I don't think anyone would consider Obama uneducated, but his SOTU speeches are at an 8th or 9th grade level for this same reason.

 

Yeah, the test they used to determine this is more or less bull****.

 

I blame the tea party

The bottom 10 are republicans and 8 of them are freshman.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpoli...ongress-talk-like-10th-graders-analysis-shows

 

From the NPR article:

He's graded higher on his speech because he uses asides to talk about himself. Forgive me if I'm not impressed.

Someone needs to analyze Congress's speech for active voice and passive voice. I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that those that use the most passive voice also refuse to take responsibility for their failures.

*- Post written at a 12.2 grade-level on the Flescher-Kincaid scale.

 

I'm with weslinder on this. Having horrible sentence construction and run-on sentences does not make your speech smarter. Having a lower grade level on these tests is probably a good thing, because it's probably an indication that you're speaking more clearly and directly. Casting this story as evidence that tea party reps are stupid is a gross disservice. They are stupid, but not because of how they speak.

 

This. They should be writing and talking at easier communication levels. People should be able to understand their congressmen.

 

exactly

 

pffft.

 

Meaningless. Based on public school's standard math and foreign language requirements I don't anyone is expected to advance much after sophomore year anyways.

 

I think Sheila Jackson Lee lowered the overall score on her own by at least 20 points....:grin:

 

This statement is correct, and many people would be in agreement with it.

 

Because she's a Yale and UVA graduate with a law degree and her husband's a University executive with a PhD, or just because she's liberal and black?

 

Spot on!
It's not *HOW* you say it
it is that it is communicated effectively.

our society is such a STYLE over SUBSTANCE place
that they would vote their own destruction if it was said in the 'right way'.

Rocket River

 

they only speak 10th grade b/c they're reading directly off of prepared talking points and scripts.....but they're actually thinking in 4th grade english..

 

TL;DR

 

Because I've met her, had a conversation with her, and she speaks like she takes orders at Timmy Chan's. I wonder who she purchased her degrees from?

 

Really?