Descriptor
Publication Type
| Information Analyses | 3 |
| Journal Articles | 1 |
| Speeches/Meeting Papers | 1 |
Education Level
Audience
Location
Laws, Policies, & Programs
Assessments and Surveys
What Works Clearinghouse Rating
Fry, Edward – 1986
Even though readability formulas are being used more widely than ever before in schools, libraries, businesses, newspapers, and government, there are critics who argue against their use. Criticism includes blaming the formulas for the "dumbing down" of textbooks, for being poor writers' guides, and for not taking into account the background or…
Descriptors: Content Analysis, Difficulty Level, Readability, Readability Formulas
Peer reviewedCarrell, Patricia L. – Reading in a Foreign Language, 1987
Reviews the literature critical of readability formulas as used in second-language reading contexts. It is suggested that such formulas not be used as guides to text production/adaptation or as measures of the difficulty of naturally occurring texts. (Author/CB)
Descriptors: Media Adaptation, Readability Formulas, Reading Instruction, Reading Material Selection
Download full textBruce, Bertram; And Others – 1981
The failure of readability formulas can be attributed to three weaknesses in the formulas. First, they ignore or violate current knowledge about the reading process. Most formulas affect only sentence length and word difficulty while ignoring factors that influence text comprehensibility, such as cohesion, the number of inferences required, the…
Descriptors: Cohesion (Written Composition), Evaluation Methods, Measurement Techniques, Readability
