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…

What is meant by text complexity is a measurement of how challenging a particular text is to read. There are a myriad of different ways of explaining what makes text challenging to read, from the sophistication of the vocabulary employed to the length of its sentences to even measurements of how the text as a whole coheres. Research shows that no…

This study examined the effects of an intervention in writing with digital interactive books. To improve the writing skills of seventh- and eighth-grade students with a learning disability in reading, we conducted a quasi-experimental study in which the students read interactive digital books (i-books), took notes, wrote summaries, and acted as…

Among the problems of using readability formulas in education are: reporting standardized scores as grade levels is often meaningless since in a single grade classroom there may be children reading two or three grades above or below grade placement; social mobility, busing policies, and changed patterns of living have increased the heterogeneity…

This paper on readability begins with a brief discussion of comprehension, including a definition, and then lists factors that influence comprehension, such as knowledge of vocabulary, long passages that are ambiguous, digressions, and unnecessary restatements. The paper then explores readability and presents a graph for estimating readability and…

Suggests caution in using readability formulas in determining how to use a textbook for instruction and suggests other factors to consider. (MKM)

This booklet describes and discusses a method for determining the readability level of prose passages in reading materials for children. The method discussed in the booklet assigns a value to each noun in selected passages on the basis of its frequency level on standard word-frequency charts, correlated in a number of studies with independent…

Noting that readability formulas are strictly text-based and therefore do not reflect the interactive nature of the reading process, this paper argues that many of the instructional material evaluations for which such formulas are used are inappropriate and offers more reader-based alternatives to the use of formulas. The first half of the paper…

A new approach to measuring readability is proposed based on the analysis of texts as causally connected chains of actions, physical states, and mental states. Using the inference load formula reflecting the difficulty readers have in inferring causal connections, the difficulty of texts can be adjusted for readers differing in skill or knowledge.…

Presents a readability formula suitable for passages from 40 to 99 words (provided they contain at least 3 sentences). (RS)

Raises doubts about the validity of readability formulas. (RB)

Readability has been gauged by such means as determining the length of individual words in a passage, analyzing types of sentences, and assessing numbers of subordinate clauses, prepositional phrases, modifiers, and so on. Probably the most successful formula has been the Dale-Chall method, which measures readability by determining the percentage…

Describes research conducted in France on text readability and suggests that readability formulas give high scores to redundant texts that have no great interest and penalize texts with original information. Argues that a coefficient should be incorporated into readability formulas that reflects the nature of the text. (MKM)

Readability formulas can be useful tools in accomplishing their primary purpose--to give very general estimates of difficulty. Unfortunately, there has been a great deal of misunderstanding regarding their use, which has resulted in misuse and abuse. The formulas were designed to be applied post hoc to existing materials. They were not intended to…