A computer program has been designed to analyze the reading difficulty of English text. It is, essentially, an automation of the widely used Dale-Chall formula for the estimation of reading difficulty. Text samples of up to 5000 words are input, with only minor punctuation restrictions being applied. Output from the program consists of sample…

Reported are results of a survey in which 13 series of secondary level geography textbooks were tested to determine readability. Findings indicate that there is little difference in the readability level of geography texts published for grade six and those published for the secondary level. References are included. (Author/DB)

Investigates the vocabulary and readability of 50 commonly used application forms. Lists the 100 most frequently used words on those forms and suggests that this list be a beginning point in reading instruction. (FL)

A new, computerized readability assessment program was developed to verify the reading levels of stories, as designated by publishers in current sixth grade reading texts. The Spache, Harris-Jacobson, Dale-Chall, Flesch, and Fry readability formulas were incorporated into one computer-based program designed for rapid calculation and comparative…

Reports that workbooks and worksheets of two first grade basal reader series included more extra words in the written directional statements of their worksheets than in their workbooks. Concludes that this practice may inhibit pupils' achievement of a lesson's objectives when such materials are used for independent work. (FL)

Concludes that there is a need for a broader-based compensatory reading program at the college freshman and sophomore levels. (FL)

Reports that introductory textbooks about special education used at the college level differ in readability and that the cloze procedure can be used as an objective measure to use in selecting these textbooks. (FL)

This study investigated responses by fifteen- and sixteen-year-old students to poetry in three interview situations--affectively-oriented, cognitively-oriented, or nondirective--and the relationship of the responses to interview method, sex, and reading level. The responses were assigned to the five categories of Personal Association, Moral…