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)

Analyzes 25 high-interest low-vocabulary fiction books and compares them to representative young adult literature in terms of 10 characteristics: youthful protagonist; adolescent's interpretation; direct exposition, dialogue, and confrontation; structural conventions; independent protagonist; consequential events; authoritative portrayals;…