This study explores the writing quality of two AI chatbots, OpenAI ChatGPT and Google Gemini. The research assesses the quality of the generated texts based on five essay models using the T.E.R.A. software, focusing on ease of understanding, readability, and reading levels using the Flesch-Kincaid formula. Thirty essays were generated, 15 from…

We compared high school students' performance in a traditional comprehension assessment requiring them to identify key information and draw inferences from single texts, and a scenario-based assessment (SBA) requiring them to integrate, evaluate and apply information across multiple sources. Both assessments focused on a non-academic topic.…

This paper examines links between perfect rhymes and text readability and decoding using a measure of English rhymes called the Perfect Rhymes Dictionary (PeRDict). PeRDict is based on the Carnegie Mellon University Pronouncing Dictionary (the CMUdict) and provides rhyme counts for ~48,000 words in English and for the most frequent 1,000, 2,500,…

Large language models (LLMs) offer an opportunity to make large-scale changes to educational content that would otherwise be too costly to implement. The work here highlights how LLMs (in particular GPT-4) can be prompted to revise educational math content ready for large scale deployment in real-world learning environments. We tested the ability…

Large language models (LLMs) offer an opportunity to make large-scale changes to educational content that would otherwise be too costly to implement. The work here highlights how LLMs (in particular GPT-4) can be prompted to revise educational math content ready for large scale deployment in real-world learning environments. We tested the ability…

Science curriculum standards were mapped onto various texts (literacy readers, trade books, online articles). Statistical analyses highlighted the inconsistencies among readability formulae for Grades 2-6 levels of the standards. There was a lack of correlation among the readability measures, and also when comparing different text sources. Online…

Age of acquisition (AoA) is a measure of word complexity which refers to the age at which a word is typically learned. AoA measures have shown strong correlations with reading comprehension, lexical decision times, and writing quality. AoA scores based on both adult and child data have limitations that allow for error in measurement, and increase…

Research has identified a number of linguistic features that influence the reading comprehension of young readers; yet, less is known about whether and how these findings extend to adult readers. This study examines text comprehension, processing, and familiarity judgment provided by adult readers using a number of different approaches (i.e.,…

This investigation compared readability formulae to publishers' identified reading levels in science-based elementary readers. Nine well-established readability indices were calculated and comparisons were made with the publishers' identified grade designations and between different genres of text. Results revealed considerable variance among the…

Developing reading skills in a second language presents learners with many challenges, including lexico-grammatical decoding. An additional challenge is posed by the different registers of written text and the associated lexico-grammatical features with which learners must contend. Questioning the efficacy of using non-academic reading texts in…

This case study of the Therapeutic Community Program at Montana Women's Prison investigates the relationship between inmate reading levels and the self-help materials used for rehabilitative purposes within prison settings. The Therapeutic Community Handbook, published by the Montana Department of Corrections, is used as the primary method of…

The validity of the Dale-Chall Readability ratings for sixth-grade science textbooks when compared to an independent criterion of language difficulty expressed in cloze units was examined. The Canadian Lorge-Thorndike IQ Test and the Canadian Test of Basic Skills, Vocabulary and Comprehension subtests, were administered to 366 sixth graders. Mean…

A study was undertaken to determine the relationship between word recognition and comprehension achieved by second and fifth grade students using reading material at various levels of readability. The testing instrument used was the Spache Diagnostic Reading Scale containing levels from primer through eighth grade. A pilot study provided a…