Descriptor
Source
Author
Publication Type
Education Level
Audience
Practitioners | 45 |
Teachers | 20 |
Administrators | 9 |
Researchers | 9 |
Policymakers | 2 |
Laws, Policies, & Programs
Bill of Rights | 1 |
Assessments and Surveys
Fry Readability Formula | 4 |
Dale Chall Readability Formula | 2 |
Nelson Denny Reading Tests | 1 |
What Works Clearinghouse Rating
Rush, R. Timothy – 1984
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…
Descriptors: Elementary Secondary Education, Evaluation Methods, Instructional Materials, Readability
Reed, Keflyn Xavier – 1988
In spite of their limitations, readability formulas can help teachers determine whether there are differences between students' reading abilities and the difficulty levels of the textbooks they are required to use. A study was conducted to assess the reading levels of students and the readability levels of textbooks at five selected junior…
Descriptors: Community Colleges, Readability, Readability Formulas, Reader Text Relationship

Hollabaugh, Mark – Journal of College Science Teaching, 1989
Provides step-by-step procedures for developing an index which uses the Gunning Fog technique to evaluate the level of reading difficulty of textbooks. Cites examples, illustrations, and several warnings in the discussion. (RT)
Descriptors: College Science, Content Analysis, Difficulty Level, Evaluation Methods
Giordano, Gerard – Academic Therapy, 1985
A four-factor approach to estimating the readability of content area texts for learning disabled students focuses on vocabulary, syntax, density, and format. (CL)
Descriptors: Content Area Reading, Elementary Secondary Education, Learning Disabilities, Readability

Anderson, Jonathan – Journal of Reading, 1983
Indicates that the Rix modification of the Lix Readability Formula is easy to calculate, correlates highly with other popular formulas, and is useful for materials for grades 3 through 12. (AEA)
Descriptors: Elementary Secondary Education, Readability Formulas, Test Reliability, Test Validity

Clewell, Suzanne F; Cliffton, Anne M. – Journal of Reading, 1983
Presents guidelines for use in examining the comprehensibility of a textbook, questions to ask about the book, and suggestions for using the guide questions. (FL)
Descriptors: Elementary Education, Evaluation Criteria, Guidelines, Readability
Williams, Connie K. – 1981
Designed to assess the cognitive requirement expected or implied in beginning reading materials and in their instructional suggestions and to determine whether these materials are appropriate to the cognitive development of the children who will use them, this instrument is for use by evaluators with the first reader in a basal series. It directs…
Descriptors: Basal Reading, Beginning Reading, Cognitive Processes, Primary Education
Fiske, Edward B. – Principal, 1984
Textbook publishers are under attack for producing books that are superficial in content and oversimplified or confusing in language. They respond that their products are the inevitable result of applying the many textbook selection formulas to book production. Efforts by educators to improve textbooks are currently being organized. (PGD)
Descriptors: Elementary Secondary Education, Readability Formulas, Textbook Evaluation, Textbook Publication

Kronowitz, Ellen – Social Studies Review, 1984
Elementary and secondary social studies teachers are first asked to rate their classroom textbooks concerning readability, interest level, quality and quantity of illustrations, clarity, and organization. Techniques that they can use to enrich each of these areas are then presented. (RM)
Descriptors: Elementary Secondary Education, Illustrations, Instructional Improvement, Organization

Quereshi, M. Y. – Teaching of Psychology, 1981
Discusses factors that psychology professors should consider when selecting a textbook for introductory courses. These include readability, human interest level, comprehensiveness, and authoritative accuracy of the material. (RM)
Descriptors: Higher Education, Introductory Courses, Psychology, Readability

Bowman, Clair M. – Social Studies, 1981
Suggests that social studies teachers use cloze procedure to determine the reading level of materials they use in the classroom. The method consists of excerpting a 300-word passage from the intended text and deleting every fifth word. Students fill in words through attention to context. (Author/KC)
Descriptors: Cloze Procedure, Elementary Secondary Education, Measurement Techniques, Readability

Irwin, Judith Westphal; Davis, Carol A. – Journal of Reading, 1980
Provides a checklist that considers "learnability" factors as well as "understandability" factors to use as an alternative to readability formulas. (MKM)
Descriptors: Check Lists, Elementary Secondary Education, Learning Processes, Readability
State Univ. of New York, Albany. Two Year Coll. Student Development Center. – 1981
Intended as a resource of staff-tested activities for two-year college faculty, staff, and administrators, this manual is a compilation of representative materials from training workshops conducted, as a professional development project, to increase instructor skills and knowledge regarding intervention in reading deficiency of postsecondary…
Descriptors: Cloze Procedure, College Faculty, Content Area Reading, Faculty Development

Wolinski, John T.; Bozman, Maurice W. – Social Studies, 1983
The Raygor Readability Estimate, described in this article, is much like the widely used Fry Readability Graph, except that it determines vocabulary difficulty by counting words of six or more letters, rather than by counting syllables. An evaluation found that Raygor was faster and easier to use and more objective than the Fry method. (RM)
Descriptors: Comparative Analysis, Difficulty Level, Elementary Secondary Education, Readability Formulas

Kennedy, Keith – American Biology Teacher, 1979
Describes how to use a readability graph to determine the reading level of Biology textbooks. (MA)
Descriptors: Biology, Literacy, Readability, Reading Level