The authors collected career information pamphlets for 16 jobs requiring little or no postsecondary education and analyzed these materials using Fry's readability formula. It was found that 26 of the 36 pamphlets analyzed were written at a postsecondary reading level; in fact, 14 were written at a reading level for college seniors. (CH)

Validates the college-level designation of the Fry Graph using comparative validity data. (AEA)

Young adults read not only to experience real-life problems, but also to "escape" from those problems. The two most popular types of novels available to teens are the contemporary realistic problem novel and the formula romance novel. A study examined the incidence of specific adolescent developmental tasks (adolescent problems/concerns)…

To increase student success in technical content area reading, the reading abilities of l,027 students and the readability levels of ll0 textbooks were evaluated at a California community college. Results indicated a significant portion of students were reading more than two years below the level of currently used texts. (Author/BS)

The Raygor Readability Estimate, described in this article, is much like the widely used Fry Readability Graph, except that it determines vocabulary difficulty by counting words of six or more letters, rather than by counting syllables. An evaluation found that Raygor was faster and easier to use and more objective than the Fry method. (RM)

The Flesch reading formula is questioned as being appropriate for evaluating college economics textbooks. The Dale-Chall, Modified Dale-Chall, Fry, and Flesch formulas were used to evaluate nine introductory textbooks. There was little or no consistency in either the absolute reading levels or the rank orderings. (Author/AM)

Noting that educators can help students have the positive experiences necessary to foster interest and growth in reading skills by guiding them toward the selection of library books at appropriate reading levels, this bibliography provides citations of high quality books for which a readability grade level has been determined using the Fry…

Evaluated and compared 12 science textbooks with respect to their readability levels and agreement with the intended reader level. Four of the books were determined to be unsatisfactory for their intended grade levels. (20 references) (MDH)

Assesses the qualities and drawbacks of high-interest easy reading books and lists the best of these books that are currently available. (SRT)

This book offers study strategies and techniques which were originally used in resource rooms for students with mild disabilities but are appropriate for all students, all content areas, and all educational levels. The book is structured around the acronym SMARTS for the six action steps or skills covered: (1) Studying, (2) Memorizing, (3) Active…

A study was conducted to examine the relationship between reading achievement levels and writing ability, and to determine the extent to which writing ability in one language transfers to another language. Subjects were 21 high school students in advanced placement Spanish classes, all of whom had learned Spanish in the classroom. The Stanford…

High school biology content was rewritten in an attempt to reduce reading difficulties for students (N=265). After four weeks of use of reduced readability materials, no significant differences in achievement were apparent. (PB)

Intended for secondary school content area teachers, this book provides a sequence of steps through which classroom content area reading programs can be developed. The chapters discuss the following: (l) four methods of diagnosis for content area reading; (2) a procedure for assessing the richness of retellings; (3) approaches to content area…