Explains significant but accounted for factors that affected the validity of the Degrees of Reading Power Test. (HOD)

Examines the practical side of readablility in the United Kingdom as well as some theoretical considerations focused on research on text difficulty, microcomputer prediction of difficulty, validity of cloze procedure, and the effect when students rewrite textbook prose. (HOD)

Discusses the characteristics of three popular readability formulas: the Dale-Chall, the Fry Graph, and the Spache. Describes text based and reader/text based alternatives. Offers appropriate applications of each form of assessment. (FL)

After more than a decade in print, "Readers Theatre for Beginning Readers" continues to outsell all comparable books on Readers Theatre. "More RTBR" capitalizes on both the popularity of "Readers Theatre for Beginning Readers" and the emphasis on fluency due to the recommendations of the National Reading Panel.…

Doubts the ability of formulas to predict readability and questions their use as aids in writing readable prose. Points out that formulas also hamper the teaching of business writing because they emphasize written products instead of the writing process. (PD)

Educators and publishers (including state departments) need to know the readability and usability of periodicals and non-text materials. On the basis of a research review of the relationship between intended audience reading level and non-text materials readability, author recommends state and federal agencies develop materials which meet the…

Using the Fry Readability approach and a ten percent random sample of all reading materials from each grade level within a program, readability data were collected on six popular elementary science textbook series. Fry readability averages and ranges for the six programs surveyed are reported by grade level. (Author/MK)

This article emphasizes the importance of providing students with materials on the appropriate level of challenge. Major readability formulas and leveling systems that might be used to assess the difficulty level of materials are reviewed. It recommends using both objective and subjective factors when estimating readability levels. (Contains…

Explains eight categories of friendly text features: text organization, signaling, discourse consistency, cohesion, explication, conceptual density, metadiscourse, and instructional devices. Extratext determinants of readability (reader, goal, teacher) are also examined. Within the context of two models of reading, the interaction of these…

This article presents a technique that builds linear equations to approximate Fry's readability graph. A BASIC program building the linear equations and providing the grade levels is provided. (Author/YP)

Some factors that should be considered when science teachers produce materials for their students are presented. Readability and the key aspects of language (vocabulary, sentence structure, textbook or examination style, and organization and presentation) are discussed. Directions and the graph needed for estimating the reading level of materials…

Compared the grade level difficulty obtained from seven readability formulas to student reading levels from two national standardized tests to determine which formulas best determined the readability of computer-based text. Found that the Flesch-Kincaid, FOG, and ARI formulas provided the best estimate of reading grade level of computer-based text…

This study analyzed the word-, sentence-, and passage-level demands of high-interest, low-level books in a manner consistent with an interactive model of reading comprehension. Cases consisted of three randomly selected passages from sixty different books. Cases were analyzed across five variables: high-frequency words, decodable words, sentences,…

Reviews the research on readability formulas. (MKM)

A study was conducted to determine whether there was any match between student perception of reading ease and the readability of three main line, first-year college composition texts (Daugherty; Kinneavy, McCleary, and Nakadate; Lauer, Montague, Lunsford, and Emig) as determined by five commonly used readability formulas. Two chapters (on…