Describes the Luiten, Ames, Bradley Readability Variation Method for estimating the variation within a text. Concludes that it is practical and relatively accurate. (HOD)

Describes recent Austrian research concerning readability formulas, especially the Swedish Lix formula. Describes a prototype for a system of evaluating the individual variables that contribute to the difficulty of student reading materials. (FL)

Reports findings of a study that examined the extent to which the variability observed in reading levels of common junior high textbooks was also present in four popular high school social studies texts. (FL)

Two studies investigated the relationships between readability, prior knowledge, and interest in the material being read. In the first study, 169 college freshmen read cloze passages of materials from the Nelson-Denny Reading Tests, then one week later read the whole passages and completed the related multiple choice questions. A control group…

Describes an adjustment factor which makes readability formulas more accurate. (RB)

The distinguishing characteristics and relationships found among the "Analytical Reading Inventory," the "Durrell Analysis of Reading Difficulty," and the Spache "Diagnostic Reading Scales" in terms of readability levels, oral and silent reading results, and independent and instructional reading levels were examined in a study involving 117 first,…

Defining readability in both the narrow sense of formula use and refinement and the broader sense of the processing and comprehension of language, this paper argues for the need for more research focusing on readability as a way of improving the match between reader and text. Following a brief introduction, the paper reviews current readability…

Suggests that the popular and simple readability formulas may not be accurate enough to predict the instructional materials best suited to the reading abilities of secondary school students. (FL)

Lists the dangers of readability formulas and concludes that while they may be a necessary evil, they should not be used as the underlying structure of a reading program. (FL)

Evaluates the practicability of the Singer Eyeball Estimate of Readability (SEER) techniques with 32 college students. Reveals that only two of the students met SEER's criterion for being considered acceptable judges. Concludes that the criterion is overly stringent and proposes a revised criterion designed to make the SEER technique more…

General information about the cloze technique and summaries of experiments with adults and children in which it was used are presented. Results indicated that the most valid and reliable cloze test for measuring passage difficulty is one in which (1) an every nth mechanical mutilation system is used, (2) not more than 20 words in every 100 are…

Offers a case study of how one teacher used readability formulas to select the most appropriate materials for her students. Presents 10 suggestions that the teacher followed to avoid being tyrannized by the formulas. (FL)

Describes a revised readability formula for Vietnamese that differentiates between Vietnamese and Sino-Vietnamese compound words and discusses its validity and reliability. (HOD)

Reports that reading instructional level scores of a teacher constructed informal reading inventory, the commercially prepared Basic Reading Inventory, the Metropolitan Achievement Test, and students' actual level of placement in books are roughly comparable but that the Wide Range Achievement Test reading subtest places children much higher. (FL)