A look at the problem of readability of written text, based upon the judgments of 56 professional writers on five passages of text taken from a reading test. (Author/HB)

READABILITY RESEARCHERS HAVE MADE ADVANCES IN THE PAST FEW YEARS, INCREASING THE ACCURACY OF READABILITY FORMULAS BY AS MUCH AS 75 PERCENT. THIS PROGRESS WAS POSSIBLE LARGELY BECAUSE RESEARCHERS IN SEVERAL DISCIPLINES DEVELOPED RESEARCH TOOLS WHICH AIDED IN THE STUDY OF READABILITY. PSYCHOLOGISTS DEVELOPED THE CLOZE PROCEDURE INTO AN ACCURATE AND…

Presents ...a method for assessing the level of difficulty of reading material in the 7 to 15 year range, together with a supplementary method for dealing with material below the 7 year level." (Author)

Using feminist and postmodern theories, argues that transparent or "accessible" language is not innocent, but is part of a discourse of power. Reflects on an experimental approach to writing about research that results in a multiply coded, multivoiced text that speaks to multiple audiences. (SK)

A study of 25 expert teachers and their shared reading lessons in grades 3-8 suggests that teachers focus their modeling during shared reading in four categories: comprehension, vocabulary, text structures, and text features. (Contains 1 figure.)

Students who successfully exit high school may nevertheless be unprepared for postsecondary endeavors. Some point to a lack of basic skills attained in the public schools. However, no one has systematically compared the text demands of high school with those of the postsecondary world. If there is a gap in text readability then apparent student…

A study examined 58 home economics education textbooks in terms of reading difficulty, writing style, and interest level for special population learners. The objective was to identify texts, using six different readability formulas that were significantly more difficult and provided educational obstacles to special populations in their preparation…

When readability formulas are used to review workbooks and textbooks their value is limited because application techniques have failed to take into consideration the exercises and examples in these books. The O'Hear and Ramsey (OR) Corrective technique has been developed to alleviate this problem. It allows readability data to be used accurately…

Suggestions are presented in this paper to aid in the effective selection of instructional materials appropriate to the reading levels of the students who will use them. Formulas designed to predict the readability of material are discussed. The cloze procedure, which attempts to measure, for individuals, the difficulty of text, is recommended for…

The papers included in this collection represent as closely as possible the content and organization of the oral presentations delivered at a March 1980 conference on the use of readability formulas. The papers discuss the following topics: (1) an introduction to the conference, with general remarks on the uses and criticism of readability…

The utility and precision of scaling 200 relatively short reading passages were analyzed using a Rasch-based measurement technique as compared to readability estimates using the Spache or Dale-Chall formulas. In addition, a regression model was specified for predicting the grade level of a text a student could literally comprehend based on…

The Fry Graph for Estimating Readability (Extended) and George Magginnis' formula for passages shorter than 100 words were used in an investigation of the reading levels of 18 mathematics textbooks produced for grades one through six by three major publishers. The results indicated that the readability levels of the textbooks were inaccurate. Few…

This literature review documents the state-of-the-art of readability assessment and indicates directions for future research in readability measurement. The period since 1953 is emphasized, although there is some consideration of earlier work. Primary emphasis within the review is based on readability measurement; however, a final section is…

Raises doubts about the validity of readability formulas. (RB)