Using 48 college texts, comparisons were made of Dale-Chall Readability Formula results based on samples taken from various page intervals. (HOD)

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)

The Fry Readability Formula was used to investigate the readability levels of stories contained in basal readers of the 1979 edition of the "Open Court" series for grades one through six. The average readability levels of the stories were then compared to those found in the 1976 edition of the same series. The purposes of the study were…

Reports two investigations, one related to the readability of certain basal readers and the other related to teacher knowledge of varying levels of readability of textbooks.

Finds that student perceptions of readability and interest levels in two upper-level college composition texts varied from the Flesch and the Fry readability and human interest formulas. (SR)

Argues against the implicit use of readability formulas as guides to writing graded texts and urges experimental research to define the real factors constituting readability. (AEA)

This article describes readability assessment methods used in science education, summarizes reported readability estimates of science textbooks, and recommends strategies for reducing the readability load of such materials. (JMF)

The development of a readability formula designed to determine the readability level of German instructional materials at the elementary level is discussed in this paper. The readability formula which was developed is called the German Readability Graph and is similar to the Fry Readability Graph. Syllables and number of sentences are counted per…

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.…

A study was conducted to evaluate the level of difficulty of textbooks (French and Sciences) written in French for use with sixth grade students. A cloze test was administered to a sample of sixth grade students in two francophone districts in the province of New Brunswick, Canada, and the Henry readability formula was applied to the same texts.…

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)

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 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)

Writing, editing, and printing texts for schools has been the accepted role of publishers, while text researchers have concentrated on typography, content, and readability. The hundreds of readability formulas now available make readability the most sophisticated of these three areas. Research in reading comprehension suggests that publishers…

Early in the 20th century, educators began looking for scientific methods for matching texts with readers. Some of the best minds in education dedicated themselves to this task, including Edward L. Thorndike, William S. Gray, Ralph Tyler, Edgar Dale, Irving Lorge, and Jeanne S. Chall. The purpose of this book is to bring students of reading into…