The purpose of this booklet is to assist local schools in making thorough assessments of instructional materials for textbook adoption. The booklet contains a checklist for evaluating instructional materials, a checklist summary sheet, and an appendix explaining readability analyses. The checklist is divided into eight sections: physical features…

These exercises and examples pertain to readability information presented in preceding articles. They are designed to help speech language pathologists test their intuitions about word and text difficulty and to see readability data from a number of quantitative formulas applied to passages across a wide range of levels. (Contains 8 references.)…

This book presents a method for the qualitative assessment of text difficulty, a method that relies on a total impression rather than on an analysis of text features. The method is based on matching samples of text to exemplars that have been scaled for comprehension difficulty. These exemplars range in difficulty from those suitable for the…

The article examines the available means of determining the readability of written materials and reviews the empirical evidence that indicates consideration of syntactic complexity in determining readability. Problems with readability formulas are pointed out. Guidelines for using readability formulas that take syntactic complexity into account…

Discusses how an experienced educator's Web site recommendations can help learners use the World Wide Web in ways bookmarks alone cannot. Highlights include browser-based and page-based annotations; examples; useful information to include (title or topic, operating instructions, description, special site features, cautions, and helpful…

This booklet of information and accompanying reading selections are intended to help a tutor get started with a new adult learner. The booklet does not provide suggestions for teaching strategies, but rather discusses conducting the initial assessment of learners, observing the student reading, categorizing the students into one of three stages,…

Presents an alternative performance-based assessment of reading comprehension and readability called the "Opin" procedure, a macroclosure procedure in which sentence endings instead of single words are deleted. Notes that readers' responses are rated on a continuum from low to high proximity with the author's intentions. (RS)

Discusses the history of the development of the measurement of reading levels and current criticism of the use of reading levels. Also discusses the relationship between a teacher's effectiveness as a reading instructor and the teacher's understanding about the concept of reading levels. Includes suggestions for change and a list of references.…

A school psychologist describes techniques and approaches to accurately assess students' reading skills and determine what materials and methods should be used for instruction. Among formulas considered for estimating reading expectancy are mental grade and years in school formulas. Research is described which indicates that school psychologists…

This handbook contains activities and resources designed to help school librarians identify, analyze, and select appropriate and useful ethnic studies materials. It is presented in four major sections. Section I examines ways of defining ethnic groups, presents sample census tables showing the social characteristics of residents by race for the…