This guide is intended for use in developing informational materials intended to be read by adults with limited reading skills. Most of the examples used throughout the guidelines relate to food and nutrition; however, the concepts they illustrate are applicable to any topic. The following topics are covering: knowing a written message's intended…

A checklist of criteria for evaluating textbooks in occupational education is presented, providing a rapid and effective way for instructors to assess occupational textbooks. The checklist encourages occupational education instructors and administrators to look at the qualities of textbooks that go beyond the subject content and readability levels…

The Flesch readability index yields meaningful information about the responses of readers to texts. Because the formula is so simple, a group of English teachers wrote a program in BASIC that would count some obvious surface features of a text and calculate Flesch scores. Among the programing problems encountered were counting words (taking into…

This booklet presents evaluation and audit systems developed to monitor and evaluate student/program success as part of a project designed to improve program and services for disadvantaged and handicapped vocational students at Fresno City College, California. The booklet is divided into the following sections: procedures for implementing and…

Discusses the history of the development of the measurement of reading levels and current criticism of the use of reading levels. Also discusses the relationship between a teacher's effectiveness as a reading instructor and the teacher's understanding about the concept of reading levels. Includes suggestions for change and a list of references.…

After reviewing criticisms of the exclusive use of readability formulas to evaluate text difficulty and describing successful efforts to broaden the traditional readability formula approach, this report presents a 20 item checklist for determining text comprehensibility based on four criteria: (1) specific objectives or outcomes expected from the…

Some techniques or strategies and principles of organization can make the teacher's task of modifying or writing curriculum materials easier. This monograph provides a step-by-step guide for writing curriculum materials, whether approaching the problem from scratch or modifying that which already exists. Chapter 1 provides the rationale, and…

This document discusses in depth the theoretical background of the Lexile Framework, which is based on the assumption that reading comprehension is the best predictor of success in higher education and job performance, and that it is the most tested construct in education. The first section defines measurement and differentiates between specific…

These exercises and examples pertain to readability information presented in preceding articles. They are designed to help speech language pathologists test their intuitions about word and text difficulty and to see readability data from a number of quantitative formulas applied to passages across a wide range of levels. (Contains 8 references.)…

A school psychologist describes techniques and approaches to accurately assess students' reading skills and determine what materials and methods should be used for instruction. Among formulas considered for estimating reading expectancy are mental grade and years in school formulas. Research is described which indicates that school psychologists…

United States history as a linchpin in the school curriculum and as a potentially exciting, sometimes electrifying, subject was the conviction underlying this analysis of U.S. history textbooks. This assessment investigates the capacity of leading U.S. social studies and history textbooks to inspire the imagination of students through effective…

Intended for independent study directors, course authors, and directors of home based or distance learning projects, this collection of current, practical guides on correspondence course development contains fourteen chapters authored by practicing home study educators and experts in their field. From Theory to Practice lists steps in course…

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…

This workbook is designed to provide beginning and experienced teachers and administrators with a guide to evaluating and selecting materials with respect to the student who uses them, the instructor who teaches from them, and the program that orders them. It is intended to be either self-instructive or used in conjunction with a staff development…

Intended to help developers of home study courses and their directors of education create good correspondence courses, this document updates the 1980 edition and was developed by members of the National Home Study Council's Research and Educational Standards Committee. The document begins with photographs and biographies of its authors. The…