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UNC specialist gets death threats after research one in 10 athletes have reading age of a 3rd Grader
Mail Online ^ | 1/10/2014

Posted on 01/13/2014 7:38:36 AM PST by Altura Ct.

A university learning specialist has received death threats and hateful messages after she exposed shockingly low academic levels among revenue athletes the University of North Carolina.

Mary Willingham found that between eight and ten per cent of college’s football and basketball players had a reading level of a third grader.

By studying eight years of test scores from University of Carolina’s revenue sports players, she found that a majority had a reading level between fourth and eighth grade.

‘We may as well go over to the elementary school up the street and let the fourth-graders and third-graders in here,’ she told CNN.

Ms Willingham looked at 183 revenue sports players at the UNC between 2004 and 2012, and found that between eight and 10 per cent read below fourth grade level and 60 per cent between fourth and eighth grade level.

Ms Willingham also discovered that up to 25 per cent of basketball and football athletes did not have the reading level to study at a community college, let alone at a university.

In the two days which have passed since her findings were published as part of a wider investigation by CNN, Ms Willingham has received four death threats and 30 'alarming messages'

‘Not people who disagree, people who put in the subject or body (of the e-mail) straight-up hate speech,’ she said.

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: tarheels; unccheats
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1 posted on 01/13/2014 7:38:36 AM PST by Altura Ct.
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To: Altura Ct.

That high?


2 posted on 01/13/2014 7:39:21 AM PST by Jeff Chandler (Obamacare: You can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs.)
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To: Altura Ct.

I would have thought it more like 35-40%.


3 posted on 01/13/2014 7:41:06 AM PST by Resolute Conservative
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To: Altura Ct.

You know people are worshiping a false god when ...


4 posted on 01/13/2014 7:42:38 AM PST by Tax-chick (Tell the mad chameleon he's not welcome anymore.)
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To: Resolute Conservative

“I would have thought it more like 35-40%.”

You are thinking about the basketball and football starters. Lots of benchwarmers out there doing their homework.


5 posted on 01/13/2014 7:43:08 AM PST by TexasGator
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To: Jeff Chandler

She must have been working miracles with them ! lol


6 posted on 01/13/2014 7:44:27 AM PST by Carry me back
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To: Altura Ct.
In the two days which have passed since her findings were published as part of a wider investigation by CNN, Ms Willingham has received four death threats and 30 'alarming messages'.

Truth hurts...people lash out.

7 posted on 01/13/2014 7:45:45 AM PST by who knows what evil? (G-d saved more animals than people on the ark...www.siameserescue.org.)
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To: Altura Ct.

I’ll say this: shame on the elementary schools that passed these kids on to the Middle Schools. Shame on the middle schools that passed them on to the high schools. Shame on the high schools... you get the point. I know a lot of people just want to say, “See.. college athletes are as dumb as a box of rocks”. However, I really wonder if they had undiagnosed Learning Disabilities that were ignored. They didn’t just show up to college not being able to read/comprehend past a third or fourth grade level.


8 posted on 01/13/2014 7:46:50 AM PST by momtothree
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To: who knows what evil?

TRUTH is the libs biggest fear.


9 posted on 01/13/2014 7:47:36 AM PST by Jane Long (While Marxists continue the fundamental transformation of the USA, progressive RINOs assist!)
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To: Altura Ct.

She’ll change her tune once these “tolerant” progressives slash her tires and leave burning bags of poop on her door...”Oops! What I meant to say was that 100% of the black, er uh African American athletes read on an exceptionally high level”!


10 posted on 01/13/2014 7:47:42 AM PST by albie (ve`)
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To: Altura Ct.

“All right Coach. I did what you asked and I gave your star players a make-up exam to see if they could pass the animal husbandry course and remain eligible to play. I asked them to spell FARM. After much deliberation, their answer was E-I-E-I-O.”


11 posted on 01/13/2014 7:47:49 AM PST by N. Theknow (Kennedys-Can't drive, can't ski, can't fly, can't skipper a boat-But they know what's best for you.)
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To: Altura Ct.

I’ve generally known that a huge percentage of our population has a reading level of a fourth grader. Our sons were reading at college level by the time they were in fifth grade. I’m not sure why. I read to them, they have a high IQ. By the time I was in firth grade, I had read all of our family’s encyclopedia at least once, and all the books in the house. We were not rich so the selection was limited. I read Gone with the Wind three times before my mother realized I was reading it for the sexy parts. She started checking my library picks after that.


12 posted on 01/13/2014 7:50:22 AM PST by Mercat
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To: Altura Ct.

This is a shock? Major universities have been recruiting “student” athletes for years based on sports ability and ignoring their obvious academic deficits. Students in these universities have long known that there are the proverbial classes in underwater basket weaving that are filled with jocks.


13 posted on 01/13/2014 7:51:14 AM PST by The Great RJ
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To: Altura Ct.
After reading the article I am still not sure how Mary Willingham used the data to support her conclusion. Although another study of other Universities had similar finding, it would be nice for a journalist to actually perform some research.

In addition, I would like corroboration of the actual emails. Maybe a profile of who sends them, i.e., Boaster Members. Again, some Journalism..

14 posted on 01/13/2014 7:59:04 AM PST by 11th Commandment (http://www.thirty-thousand.org/)
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Ms Willingham also discovered that up to ONLY 25 per cent of basketball and football athletes did not have the reading level to study at a community college, let alone at a university.

I had to correct that line, because the scariest thing about this report is that you only need to read at a level somewhere between 4th and 8th grade to study at the community college level.

15 posted on 01/13/2014 8:00:17 AM PST by Henchster (Free Republic - the BEST site on the web!)
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To: Altura Ct.

I blame Lil Wayne.


16 posted on 01/13/2014 8:02:37 AM PST by struggle
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To: Altura Ct.

The numbers could be accurately summarized by saying that 70% of the “revenue athletes” read at eighth grade level or below.


17 posted on 01/13/2014 8:02:52 AM PST by awjenni
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To: momtothree

I coached HS baseball for 3 seasons. The kids had to maintain a 2.0 GPA to play. That seemed a little low to me, though I guarantee they could all read.


18 posted on 01/13/2014 8:03:21 AM PST by onedoug
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To: Altura Ct.

In 1989, the average salary of a UNC geography major from class of 1984 was $13,000,000. There were only five, one of whom was Micheal Jordan.


19 posted on 01/13/2014 8:04:48 AM PST by Lonesome in Massachussets (Doing the same thing and expecting different results is called software engineering.)
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To: Lonesome in Massachussets

... and he didn’t graduate.


20 posted on 01/13/2014 8:05:15 AM PST by Lonesome in Massachussets (Doing the same thing and expecting different results is called software engineering.)
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