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)

The "Rewriting Technique" (which reduces a textbook chapter, article, or story to a desired reading level) is a method for meeting the reading needs of secondary level learning disabled students. (SW)

Examines the language used to communicate Keynesian ideas and measures the progress toward effective presentation of those ideas. (HOD)

Presents results of Flesch readibility scores for introductory astronomy textbooks and noncalculus physics textbooks. Two tables list Flesch score, mean error, and grade level for 10 texts in astronomy and eight in physics. (CS)

The purpose of this investigation was to (1) examine the effects of lowering the level of readability of textbook materials on the level of comprehension in a content area having technical terminology, and (2) determine the effects of providing a glossary of technical terms upon the level of comprehension. (Author/CT)

Argues that the use of microcomputers and prewritten computer programs can save teachers time and effort in calculating the readability levels of written materials. (FL)

Concludes that the Spache and Harris-Jacobson readability formulas are quite similar in variables used, in the way they were developed, and in statistical characteristics; notes differences in the Fry graph and raises questions about its suitability for measuring the readability of primary grade reading materials. (ET)

A study on the readability of publications of the Florida Cooperative Extension Service shows that most are written at the 12th-grade level, though the average Floridian reads at the sixth-grade level. The materials present a barrier to comprehension by limited-resource audiences in Florida. (JOW)

Describes a pilot study that employed the cloze technique to assess student writing and to investigate writing generally. (DD)

Discusses the value of comic books as classroom reading material and discusses the findings of a preliminary study of comic book readability. (DD)

Traces the history of vocabulary control in children's readers from the turn of the century, describing the enormous impact of Edward L. Thorndike. (DD)

In a study of commercially published textbooks it was found that the reading level, determined by readability formulas, is decreasing in elementary textbooks. Although this is beneficial to elementary students, the author cautions that the lowering of the reading level does not necessarily make a text easier to understand. (JR)

This study finds that the overall readability level of elementary social studies texts, as well as the range of levels within texts, is decreasing. (HOD)

Explores the ethical issues involved in transcribing. Argues that the challenge for the transcriber is to produce transcriptions that are accurate and readable but that are also reflexive in how they make explicit to the reader the constructed nature of written talk, a role giving rise to the problematic nature of accuracy and readability. (27…