Having done 2nd grade in the Philippines and the rest of my education in the USA, I would say that their schooling is much more difficult and they are pushed harder. In addition the school days were longer and the culture there really promoted the importance of academic success. Here in the USA it's almost frowned upon to some degree-- if you're smart, you're a nerd.

And yes, at least in my area (Southeast USA) people do not know punctuation rules. Most of them write okay, but comma splices, apostrophes, semicolons, etc. would trip them up.

I am brazilian and our education system is notoriously bad, any international ranking can attest it. I've seen many brutal errors made by university students, but this particular example striked me as almost unbelievable. Thanks for the answer

>but this particular example striked me as almost unbelievable

That's because it is unbelievable. In high school in the US, I had to write an essay per week in my history classes and a paper per book in my literature classes.

I went middle ranked suburban high school (and a large public university). Based on my experience, this story didn't happen the way it's being told.

I think it's more likely that no one wanted to raise their hand because they thought it was a trick question.

I'm sure it depends on where you live. I've moved around a lot. In the well funded city schools we got a pretty decent education. When I moved out to the country it went downhill a lot. I tried going to the middle of nowhere community college to save money and the first year was basically middle school level English and Math. People were struggling. There was a lot of "this stuff will never affect me, I'm just going to work on a farm or factory so who cares" type of attitude.

I've always enjoyed learning and I think anyone who does can succeed in any environment. There were certainly other kids who strived for more even in the country and did okay too. But having moved a lot I could tell the difference.

I guess there is quite a paradox, that non-native English speakers know some grammar concepts better than the native ones. I also think that it's an extreme example and somewhat I refuse to believe that college students do not know the difference.

I also was told that non-native speakers can better distinguish between 'well' and 'good', and the usual suspects 'you', 'your', 'you're'. The latter is so basic that I am bewildered when native speakers cannot understand the difference.

English is my second language. I'd say it's due to the fact that when you learn a language in school, by listening AND writing, it'll stick in your head visually. I never mistake its/it's, they're/their etc., something I can frequently see native speakers do on the Web in their comments.

I did not know this, quite interesting. I will try to find an explanation of the phenomena

'Is this kind of thing really common?'

In the UK it is, the cats example would stump a lot of people.

A classic here is 'its' and 'it's'.

Wouldn't you get points deducted from various classes starting even in elementary school?

It used to be the case but the trend, anecdotally, is towards a more-rounded learning experience where grammar and punctuation are considered less important.

Why would deduction of points lead to understanding?

Wouldn't one ask why points were deducted?

Only if that one is interested is his/her success and doesn't hate the subject. Plus, a child can be too shy to ask for an explanation.

You think someone could possibly keep this up for 10+ years?

[re-parenting comment]

Not surprising, even looking at some of the appalling written English posted here on HN (a community which, you would think, is educated to an above-average level). Nobody cares. Plus, if you actually point out incorrect spelling, grammar, or usage here, you’re instantly shouted down with cries of “language evolves!”

[Edit: Looks like the “Language Evolves” crowd is already here!]

On the Internet no one cares about punctuation or grammar.

Maybe you're overthinking it. People just don't like to hear about something that's completely irrelevant to the conversation.

If you really care about improving some one grammar, send a private message. It can be very useful for a non-native speaker, especially if it's not a total stranger to you. Saying out loud "fix your grammar" doesn't make you a hero on a white house.