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The latest bad news is that reading and writing scores on the SAT have once again declined. The language competence of high schoolers fell steeply in the 1970s and has never recovered. This is very worrisome, because the best single measure of the overall quality of our primary and secondary schools is the average verbal score of 17-year-olds. This score correlates with the ability to learn new things readily, to communicate with others and to hold down a job. It also predicts future income.
The most credible analyses have shown that the chief causes are vast curricular changes, especially in the critical early grades. In the decades before the Great Verbal Decline, a content-rich elementary school experience evolved into a content-light, skills-based, test-centered approach. Cognitive psychologists agree that early childhood language learning (ages 2 to 10) is critical to later verbal competence, not just because of the remarkable linguistic plasticity of young minds, but also because of the so-called Matthew Effect.
The name comes from a passage in the Scriptures: “For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.” Those who are language-poor in early childhood get relatively poorer, and fall further behind, while the verbally rich get richer.
The origin of this cruel truth lies in the nature of word learning. The more words you already know, the faster you acquire new words. This sounds like an invitation to vocabulary study for tots, but that's been tried and it's not effective. Most of the word meanings we know are acquired indirectly, by intuitively guessing new meanings as we understand the overall gist of what we are hearing or reading. The Matthew Effect in language can be restated this way: “To those who understand the gist shall be given new word meanings, but to those who do not there shall ensue boredom and frustration.”
Clearly the key is to make sure that from kindergarten on, every student, from the start, understands the gist of what is heard or read. If preschoolers and kindergartners are offered substantial and coherent lessons concerning the human and natural worlds, then the results show up five years or so later in significantly improved verbal scores. By staying on a subject long enough to make all young children familiar with it, the gist becomes understood by all and word learning speeds up. This is especially important for low-income children, who come to school with smaller vocabularies and rely on school to impart the knowledge base affluent children take for granted.
Current reform strategies focus on testing, improving teacher quality, and other changes. Attention to these structural issues has led to improvements in the best public schools. But it is not enough.
1. The drop in verbal scores on the SAT is worrisome because ______.
[A] students' reading and writing ability affects their future development
[B] it shows the schools' inability to meet the national requirements
[C] it reveals young people's negative attitude towards verbal study
[D] it will lead to a short supply of talents in the labor market
2. Which of the following is the reason for the falling verbal competence？
[A] Children's lack of language learning ability.
[B] Fewer courses on reading and writing in school.
[C] The shift of curricular focus from content to skills.
[D] Heavy pressure caused by numerous tests.
3. According to Paragraphs 3 and 4, the Mathew Effect in language ______.
[A] only applies to adults' language learning process
[B] encourages people to learn from babies in word study
[C] introduces a new approach to language study
[D] emphasizes that words should be learned in context
4. The implication of Mathew Effect in language is that ______.
[A] children should be trained to understand the content
[B] teachers should make everything understandable for students
[C] teachers should focus on one topic in language teaching
[D] children's family background determines their verbal ability
5. Which of the following is the best title for the text?
[A] Mathew Effect in Language Learning
[B] How to Stop the Drop in Verbal Scores
[C] Try to Understand the Gist
[D] Don't Overlook Your Verbal Scores