Describes Fry's Readability Graph for determing the variations in difficulty throughout textbooks. (RB)

A REVISION OF THE READABILITY GRAPH WITH DIRECTIONS FOR ITS USE AND VALIDTIY DATA ARE PRESENTED. THE USE OF THE GRAPH INVOLVES WORD SAMPLES, NUMBER OF SENTENCES, AND NUMBER OF SYLLABLES. THE LATTER TWO ARE PLOTTED ON A GRAPH TO ASCERTAIN GRADE LEVELS. THE CORRELATIONS OF THE READABILITY GRAPH WITH THE DALE-CHALL, FLESCH, AND SPACHE FORMULAS ARE…

Advocates using the cloze procedure and varying the criteria of success, according to the group, in order to determine the readability of instructional materials. (MKM)

Explores the use of microcomputers in readability calculation. (DF)

Determines from empirical information on the application of four readability formulas to a group of widely used college economics textbooks that there is no consistency in the absolute reading levels or the rank orderings of these books. (AEA)

Examines readability formulas and examples of their misuse. Analyzes an essay by George Orwell which was given a grade 10 readability level by one formula and discusses characteristics of Orwell's style that refute the accuracy of formula rating. (HTH)

Proposes modifying standard readability formulas, such as the Fry and Flesch, by determining which words in a given passage would be taught as vocabulary words. These words are given the value of one syllable. In examples using this method, the readability is reduced from eighth to fourth grade. (KC)

Attempts to determine whether the Raygor graph produces readability estimates compatible with estimates derived from the Fry graph, whether the Raygor graph is less time-consuming, and whether it lends itself to greater computational accuracy. (DD)

Examines the relationship of readability to usage of main idea clues in introductory texts in sociology and in English composition texts. Concludes that use of main idea clues provides a useful supplement to readability formulas in evaluating college textbooks. (SR)

Suggests that readability formulas are methodologically flawed and inappropriate measures of the readability of materials written for adults. Argues that the cloze procedure is preferable because it assesses the readability of material by its intended audience. Notes that possible users of the cloze procedure include school systems, government…

This article reports findings from a study examining how altered readability levels affected struggling readers' (N = 288) comprehension of scientific concepts and vocabulary. Specifically, the researchers were interested in learning what effect altered readability levels have when low ability readers participate in a technology-based science…

The effects of a voluntary summer reading intervention with and without a parent training component were evaluated with a sample of low-income Latino children from language minority families. During the last month of 4th grade, 370 children were pretested on a measure of reading comprehension and vocabulary and were randomly assigned to (a) a…

Noting that research indicating Newbery Medal books are not popular with elementary students in spite of their unquestioned superiority in plot, characterization, and style, a study examined the readability level of Newbery Medal winners from 1974 to 1986. Three readability formulas were used to assess readability: Gunning's Fog Index, Fry…

A new readability formula is designed to work on passages that are 40 to 99 words long, while existing readability formulas require a passage of 300 words or longer. The new formula requires the passage to have at least three sentences and is reliable for the fourth through the twelfth grades. (Four figures which demonstrate the use of the formula…