Appendix A of the Common Core State Standards (hereafter CCSS) contains a review of the research stressing the importance of being able to read complex text for success in college and career. The research shows that while the complexity of reading demands for college, career, and citizenship have held steady or risen over the past half century,…

This paper on readability begins with a brief discussion of comprehension, including a definition, and then lists factors that influence comprehension, such as knowledge of vocabulary, long passages that are ambiguous, digressions, and unnecessary restatements. The paper then explores readability and presents a graph for estimating readability and…

A study was conducted to evaluate the level of difficulty of textbooks (French and Sciences) written in French for use with sixth grade students. A cloze test was administered to a sample of sixth grade students in two francophone districts in the province of New Brunswick, Canada, and the Henry readability formula was applied to the same texts.…

College students can read, but they often lack the prereading and postreading skills needed to help them think about and respond to what they read. A three-step plan can help students read and understand the text more fully. The first step entails using measures of fitness to determine: (1) the grade level of the text being considered and how it…

This article presents a rationale for incorporating reading activities with science. It emphasizes that science investigations can provide a background for, and an interest in, reading among students. Three approaches for using science as a vehicle for reading are given: (1) the unit approach; (2) the tradebook, activity card approach; and (3) the…

A group of adult education teachers sought to determine if a readability formula applied to classroom materials provided a match with student reading levels. Cloze tests were used to determine whether students were able to understand the material. In three of the eight samples, the Cloze test showed that the readability test did not accurately…

This paper discusses methods of teaching reading in the content areas at the middle school, junior high school, and secondary school levels. If a textbook is to be used, teachers should examine it by administering a readability formula and by checking the book's vocabulary, sentence patterns, and introduction of abstract concepts. To find how well…

The multicultural pattern in recent Australian immigration poses a pressing issue for reading instruction. Students coming from homes where only English is spoken, or English and a Northern European language are spoken, perform better on reading tests than do students from homes where other languages are spoken. There is also little reflection…

The bulletin contains suggestions for secondary level social studies teachers to improve students' reading skills in social studies while at the same time enhancing the learning of social studies content. The materials can be easily adapted for elementary grades. Chapter one describes specific procedures for determining student reading levels.…

A readability study for the Albuquerque Technical-Vocational Institute (T-VI) was undertaken to provide information regarding the reading ability required to complete training and to function in entry-level jobs. Readability formulas were applied to materials used in training and on the job. In addition, students were tested for level of reading,…