One in three Italians fails a reading comprehension test. Today we'll do it together: five texts, five questions, each with increasing difficulty, modeled after the OECD tests. We'll start with a clinic notice and end with Roberto Calasso, passing through a newspaper article, a contemporary novel, and Giovanni Verga. By the end, you'll know where you stand: among the 35% of Italians who get lost at the first few lines, or among the 5% who can handle any text, even the most complex.
The first chapter on functional illiteracy is here 👉 Analfabetismo funzionale: perché la tua is...
✍️ Subscribe to the Prolisso newsletter. You can find it here 👉 https://substack.com/@andreapassador
📚 My novel Emme by Marcello https://amzn.to/4wgSzb6 (the text of the third question is taken from here)
Books
Rosso Malpelo: Verga https://link.amazon/B02pIf0ZY
La rovina di Kasch: Calasso https://link.amazon/B0d7XV1uo
As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
📌 CHAPTERS
00:00 A test that one in three Italians fails
00:37 OECD data (and why we're getting worse)
01:58 Question 1 — Level 1: The notice
03:13 Question 2 — Level 2: The newspaper
04:50 Question 3 — Level 3: The novel
06:31 Question 4 — Level 4: Verga
08:15 Question 5 — Level 5: Calasso
10:26 The report card: where you fit on the OECD scale
📚 SOURCES AND READINGS
— OECD, Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), second cycle, December 2024: In Italy, 35% of adults aged 16 to 65 are at Level 1 or lower in reading comprehension (OECD average: 26%); only 5% reach Level 4 (OECD average: 12%). In 2012, low performers were 28%.
— The official PIAAC test items, declassified by the OECD and freely available: oecd.org/en/about/programmes/piaac/piaac-released-items.html
— ISTAT, "Books and Libraries: Reading and Attendance Habits," July 2026: In 2024, 57.1% of people aged six and over read at least one book in the last twelve months (up from 59.4% in 2015).
🎙️ Verbose is the least listened to podcast in Italy.
Let me know in the comments how many of them you got right and which question you missed—be honest, because your writing speaks volumes. Subscribe to the channel and activate the bell: three videos a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
#verbose #functionalilliteracy #reading #textcomprehension #books #OECD #verga #calasso
One in three Italians fails a reading comprehension test. Today we'll do it together: five texts, five questions, each with increasing difficulty, modeled after the OECD tests. We'll start with a clinic notice and end with Roberto Calasso, passing through a newspaper article, a contemporary novel, and Giovanni Verga. By the end, you'll know where you stand: among the 35% of Italians who get lost at the first few lines, or among the 5% who can handle any text, even the most complex.
The first chapter on functional illiteracy is here 👉 Analfabetismo funzionale: perché la tua is...
✍️ Subscribe to the Prolisso newsletter. You can find it here 👉 https://substack.com/@andreapassador
📚 My novel Emme by Marcello https://amzn.to/4wgSzb6 (the text of the third question is taken from here)
Books
Rosso Malpelo: Verga https://link.amazon/B02pIf0ZY
La rovina di Kasch: Calasso https://link.amazon/B0d7XV1uo
As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
📌 CHAPTERS
00:00 A test that one in three Italians fails
00:37 OECD data (and why we're getting worse)
01:58 Question 1 — Level 1: The notice
03:13 Question 2 — Level 2: The newspaper
04:50 Question 3 — Level 3: The novel
06:31 Question 4 — Level 4: Verga
08:15 Question 5 — Level 5: Calasso
10:26 The report card: where you fit on the OECD scale
📚 SOURCES AND READINGS
— OECD, Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), second cycle, December 2024: In Italy, 35% of adults aged 16 to 65 are at Level 1 or lower in reading comprehension (OECD average: 26%); only 5% reach Level 4 (OECD average: 12%). In 2012, low performers were 28%.
— The official PIAAC test items, declassified by the OECD and freely available: oecd.org/en/about/programmes/piaac/piaac-released-items.html
— ISTAT, "Books and Libraries: Reading and Attendance Habits," July 2026: In 2024, 57.1% of people aged six and over read at least one book in the last twelve months (up from 59.4% in 2015).
🎙️ Verbose is the least listened to podcast in Italy.
Let me know in the comments how many of them you got right and which question you missed—be honest, because your writing speaks volumes. Subscribe to the channel and activate the bell: three videos a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
#verbose #functionalilliteracy #reading #textcomprehension #books #OECD #verga #calasso
1) a livello generale mi sento di farti i miei piu sinceri complimenti perche’ i contenuti che porti sul you tube italia sono preziosi perche’ culturalmente densi ed originali;
2) con riferimento specifico a questo video la mia ammirazione e’ massima per te perche’ - da vero servizio pubblico - tratti il tema dell’analfabetismo funzionale che e’ esiziale per spiegare i limiti del sistema democratico attuale. Il ministero dell’istruzione dovrebbe fare un accordo con you tube per veicolare periodicamente video con contenuti simili per aumentare il livello di comprensione degli italiani che si informano sui social;
3) Mi permetto di farti una critica costruttiva. Condivido tutte le risposte che hai dato alle domande tranne la risposta che tu qualifichi come giusta alla quarta domanda. Questo perche’ confondi due ruoli distinti in ogni testo narrativo: l’autore e il narratore.
Rosso Malpelo appartiene ella raccolta Vita dei campi, edita nel 1880 alla quale appartiene anche la Lupa. Entrambe le novelle sono rappresentazione del diverso, di chi è escluso dalla società.
In entrambi i racconti esiste uno scarto tra il punto di vista del narratore, che si identifica con la comunità che tende ad emarginare, e quello dell’autore. Quest’ultimo, per quanto risulti “eclissato”, implicito, è presente.
Quindi le risposte che proponi alla quarta domanda sono tutte errate perche’ Verga non condivideva le credenze del suo tempo anzi le stigmatizzava ma il narratore invece condivide appieno il pregiudizio di ignoranza contro le persone dai capelli rossi. Infatti prima il narratore esprime il suo punto vista e lo presenta come dato oggettivo e solo dopo utilizza la congiunzione ‘sicche’’ quale correlazione causale per estendere questa sua convinzione (che noi moderni sentiamo come errata ed ingiusta ed anche Verga) alla
comunita della cava. Spero che la tua onesta intellettuale ti porti a correggere o almento a confrontarti pubblicamente sulla tematica che ho sollevato.
Un saluto di stima.