E. D. Hirsch Jr. has an editorial in the New York Times yesterday, Monday, September 19, 2011, entitled "How to stop the drop in verbal scores." He quotes from the Bible to explain the Matthew Effect, which he holds accountable for declining SAT scores.
Hirsch quotes: "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." Hirsch goes on to say that "those who are language-poor in early childhood get relatively poorer, and fall further behind, while the verbally rich get richer."
No context is given. What was Matthew talking about before and after this? Vocabulary acquisition? Background knowledge? Income tax? Hedge funds? Fashion week?
And which translation is he using? It sounds like King James, which means it was a translation into English from the Greek, only once removed from the original texts.
Here is yet another example of sacred texts called upon to perform miracles. Fortunately, they are up to the task.
Hirsch has a point that deserves to be acknowledged. The SAT is 90% vocabulary. It is an American standardized test. If you have most of the SAT words in your reading vocabulary, you have a better chance of constructing meaning from the relationships between words in the texts.
Behind Hirsch's argument is his famous work, published in the 80's, expounding cultural literacy. Teach these well-known allusions to your students, and they will have a context for understanding texts from the western canon.
What is missing from Hirsch's argument is the miracle that happens every time a reader encounters a text, whether they know all the words or not. No test can measure that relationship.
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