UNC reading specialist says she is resigning

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — The reading specialist who questioned the literacy level of athletes who were admitted to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill says she's resigning at the end of the semester.

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Willingham told CNN in January that her research of 183 football or basketball players from 2004-12 found 60 percent reading at fourth- to eighth-grade levels and roughly 10 percent below a third-grade level.

Three outside experts hired by UNC issued reports earlier this month saying Willingham's research data doesn't support her claims. One of them estimated about 7 percent of athletes from Willingham's research read at fourth- to eighth-grade levels.

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Willingham met last week with former U.S. Justice Department official Kenneth Wainstein, who was hired by UNC to conduct a review of possible fraud in the formerly named African and Afro-American Studies Department.

The alleged irregularities, dating to the 1990s, included lecture classes with significant athlete enrollments that didn't meet and were instead treated as independent studies requiring only a research paper.

Willingham has said those "paper classes" were designed to keep athletes academically eligible to remain in school.

http://news.yahoo.com/unc-reading-specialist-says-she-resigning-152620707--spt.html