[thomasanders0n]

>This paper analyzes the results from a think-aloud reading study designed to test the reading comprehension skills of 85 English majors from two regional Kansas universities.

I think a major factor in this study is that there aren’t exactly any prestigious universities in Kansas. If they were to repeat the same thing at an elite institution the vast majority of students in any major could understand this.

(Also it’s probably easier to read the whole thing and then go back and explain the meaning in my personal opinion)

[squidbeak]

Reading comprehension isn't a skill you'd expect to be limited to students at elite institutions.

[victorbjorklund]

> Michaelmas term, mire, and blinkers.

Example of words (from another HN comment). Not sure I would way someone not knowing what "Michaelmas term" is means they can't read. I don't know this word (in my defense english isnt my first language).

[rahimnathwani]

They were allowed access to Google. If you didn't know what Michaelmas was, and couldn't guess from the 'mas' suffix and the word 'term', then you could just Google it.

[noir_lord]

I knew all three but I had some advantages - English is my first language, I'm British and mire (Quagmire is still used to describe a bad situation that's hard to escape from as well as it's original meaning - so not a huge leap to what mire is) and blinkers (idiomatically - "he had his blinkers on" is still used for example) are still in use (I wouldn't say common use but not extinct either) and Michaelmas comes from liking history and looking up the term at some point in the last 30 odd years.

[jinushaun]

No, plenty of articles have been written about “illiterate Ivy League students” lately so it’s not just a problem at non-elite schools. These articles have been popping up a lot lately.

Personally, I disagree with the entire premise because it equates literacy with enjoying classic literature. I don’t. So by this metric, I’m also illiterate. I don’t enjoy flowery prose full of allusions and analogy. I prefer science textbooks over Shakespeare.