I find it very surprising that contractions are considered at a high school reading level; it seems counterintuitive, since contractions are informal. Craig, do you remember where you read that? I’m sure I heard the same statistic about the 8th grade, probably in my reading theory class in college. It’s sad, really. I think good reading skills are a matter of getting books in kids’ hands at a very early age, but that’s a soapbox for another time (and venue, perhaps).

However, the reason that most folks have stopped using them is because of translatations and localizations, and because those who have English as a second/third/fourth language sometimes find it harder to comprehend. I try to rewrite around them whenever possible.