The authors evaluated principles of macroeconomics textbooks for readability using Coh-Metrix, a computational linguistics tool. Additionally, they conducted an experiment on Amazon's Mechanical Turk Web site in which participants ranked the readability of text samples. There was a wide range of scores on readability indexes both among…

Eight college listening texts were selected and evaluated by the following criteria: organization, supporting material, and readability. Text organization was assessed by preface material, table of contents, index, and references. Text supporting material was evaluated by the use of hard data, soft data, visual aids, and bibliographies. Text…

Notes the readability level of many high school chemistry textbooks is far above students' reading levels. Conducts two separate studies, making every effort to keep the two classes as similar as possible in all aspects except text. Finds strong evidence that changing the chemistry textbook resulted in an increase in student achievement. Suggests…

Reports on the evaluation of readability levels of 16 public speaking textbooks and 7 skills-oriented interpersonal communication textbooks. Finds sizable differences among public speaking textbooks. Advocates using readability data in the process of textbook selection and suggests how to do so. (SR)

Major investigations have shown that children care little for social studies as a school subject. Therefore, a closer look was taken at social studies textbooks in order to ascertain if the reading difficulty of the texts was an important cause behind the children's dislike. This study evaluated the reading levels of 41 social studies texts…

New editions of selected college textbooks have been found to be more difficult than former ones, and experiments show that students learn less effectively from the new editions. Guidelines are offered for choosing textbooks, such as writing style, conceptual density, and the utility of readability analyses. (Editor/LBH)

Study was concerned with whether there is a practical difference between the reading ability of the eight, ninth, and tenth grade students and the readibility levels of their assigned textbooks in English, science and social studies. Findings show that most of the textbooks assigned were too difficult for effective instructional usage. (RB)

Shows how a number of readability measures developed in English were applied to a textbook written in Hindi. Emphasizes that the more recent approaches to readability that focus on syntax, conceptual difficulty, and organization are a teacher's best help in selecting materials for students. (SR)

The target population of this project consists of students enrolled in four regional vocational education centers which serve selected students who desire to receive enriched and specialized vocational education during the 11th and 12th years of public school. The project goals for the first year related to identification of students' reading…

Presents research findings about textbook construction and how they should influence the development of chemistry texts. Discusses learning as a constructive process, the importance of interpreting symbolic representations, and the creation of structure by the learner. Advocates publisher responsibility for incorporating results of research when…

Focusing on what authors can do to facilitate learning from content area textbooks, this report labels authors as "considerate," providing text that readers can understand with a minimum of cognitive effort, or as "inconsiderate," creating text that requires a conscientious, highly skilled effort if readers are to comprehend…

Raises issues concerning pupils' interactions with mathematics textbooks. Discusses problems related to effective reading and the ability to interpret graphs, diagrams, and symbols. (NH)

To provide learners with the most reliable information, individuals and committees responsible for text selection examine texts for classroom use in steps. Since very few people have the specialized knowledge of all the technical fields like drafting, electronics, or graphics that make up the field of Industrial Arts, a committee is required to…

A British publisher conducted a readability study of its English language content area texts being used in foreign countries to determine how the texts could be made more readable. A cloze procedure assessment of a secondary school Hong Kong social studies series indicated that the English texts were too difficult for 91% of the pupils tested.…