Lawmakers in Congress speak at almost a full grade level lower than they did seven years ago, with Republicans on average using more simple speech patterns than Democrats, according to a new analysis Monday.
Members of Congress currently speak at a 10.6
Lawmakers in Congress speak at almost a full grade level lower than they did seven years ago, with Republicans on average using more simple speech patterns than Democrats, according to a new analysis Monday.
Members of Congress currently speak at a 10.6 grade level, a Sunlight Foundation analysis found – down almost a full grade level of 11.5 in 2005. Based on analysis of floor speeches made by congressional members through April 25 of this year, Republicans speak at a 10.4 grade level, while Democrats speak at a 10.8 level.
The study also revealed that only 10 members of Congress have used at least 20 of Kaplan’s 100 most common SAT words so far in the current session of Congress, while just 92 members have used at least 10 of those words.
According to the Sunlight Foundation’s analysis of some of the country’s most prominent documents, the U.S. Constitution is written at a 17.8 grade level, the Federalist Papers at a 17.1 level, and the Declaration of Independence at a 15.1 level (an analysis by the University of Minnesota showed that President Barack Obama’s State of the Union this year had an 8th grade comprehension level – the third lowest score of any SOTU address since 1934).
The study also found that the grade level of speech is lower for members who are more conservative: for Republicans, the drop is almost three whole grade levels from members of moderate voting records to those with conservative ones.