RE: RE 3.1 proposal - first half

Gregg, followed by Ineke, about the "education level":

<blockquote>
>statement would be safe could just >be universally applied.

No  in some countries in Western-Europe education is so individualized
the 
last years, that only some key subjects are obliged for all students in
the 
last years before high school graduation and go to college. 
</blockquote>

The International Standard Classification of Education, published by the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 1999, is
designed to allow meaningful comparison of education systems in
different countries.  It describes 6 education levels, from "primary"
(typically the first 5-6 years of school) through "advanced" (Master's
degrees, doctorates, and comparable degrees in various fields like
medicineetc.).

In most countries, 9 years of school corresponds to the end of what the
classification scheme calls "upper secondary" education.  In the US,
this is either the first year of high school (in some jurisdictions) or
the last year of junior high school (in others).

Simlarly, "fewer than 7 years of school" corresponds to the end of
primary education.  It is possible to present complex ideas and
information in text that can be read by people whose reading ability
corresponds to this education level.

The research I've seen indicates that most readers find it difficult to
read and understand text that requires reading ability beyond what can
be expected of people who've completed more than 9 years of school.
(That's true even in countries where the average education level is
considerably higher.)

John


"Good design is accessible design"
John Slatin, Ph.D.
Senior Accessibility Specialist
RampWEB, Inc.
phone +1.512.266.6189 email jslatin@rampweb.com
www.rampweb.com 

-----Original Message-----
From: w3c-wai-gl-request@w3.org [mailto:w3c-wai-gl-request@w3.org] On
Behalf Of Ineke van der Maat
Sent: Thursday, May 26, 2005 5:06 AM
To: Gregg Vanderheiden; w3c-wai-gl@w3.org
Subject: Re: RE 3.1 proposal - first half



Hello Greg,

>This would be equivalent to a such and such reading level of xxx."  
>Such a
>statement would be safe could just >be universally applied.

No  in some countries in Western-Europe education is so individualized
the 
last years, that only some key subjects are obliged for all students in
the 
last years before high school graduation and go to college. In the 
Netherlands these key subjects are: Dutch, English, history and society,

elementary natural science, culture and art.

And the rest of the subjects  depends on the choice of a student what 
profile he chooses. 4 very different profiles  can be offered and
schools 
also vary in how many profiles and which ones they offer.

But what has a reading level to do with the contents of the website. I
know 
people that can write very clearly about the most difficult subjects
that 
even children of 10 year can understand it easily and others can not
even 
write clearly about the same subject  so that even people with college 
graduation will not understand it easily..

Reading level or education level: it tells nothing...It does not tell if
a 
text is understandably written... that should be the only criterium.

Greetings
Ineke van der Maat

Received on Thursday, 26 May 2005 13:04:07 UTC