There are many readability tools that instructors can use to help adult learners select reading materials. We describe and compare different types of readability tools: formulas calculated by hand, tools found on the Web, tools embedded in a word processing program, and readability tools found in a commercial software program. Practitioners do not…

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)

Writers and writing teachers should be wary of depending on readability indexes as indicators of the difficulty of written messages. The Gunning Fog Index and the Damerst Clear Index, two readability formulas, were used to determine the readability of "A Statement of Editorial Policy" and two abstracts appearing in an issue of…