Discusses why proper nouns should be counted and how to count syllables and words, recent work on the validity of readability formulas, and the readability graph extrapolated to college level. (JM)

Provides a 17-item annotated bibliography addressing issues of measures of readability for languages other than English, the mismatch between student reading ability and text readability, and promising new approaches to readability. (MG)

A survey of the current research on readability formulas is presented in this paper, which distinguishes this research from research on the more general questions that surround formulas: What features of a text, particularly the language it is written in, make the text easy or difficult to read? and, What will predict that readers with particular…

This booklet is comprised primarily of the summaries of computerized readability assessments of sample passages from each story or chapter in a reading textbook series for grades one through eight. Introductory chapters offer discussions of the computerized readability assessment program used, the various uses of readability information about a…

The six tables presented in this paper were prepared in the belief that more educators would use the Harris-Jacobson Readability Formulas if the operations employed in those formulas to determine the estimated readability level of materials could be completed more quickly and with fewer calculations. Instructions for using the tables are included.…

This article describes readability assessment methods used in science education, summarizes reported readability estimates of science textbooks, and recommends strategies for reducing the readability load of such materials. (JMF)

This paper describes and reports on the performance of six related artificial neural networks that have been developed for the purpose of readability analysis. Two networks employ counts of linguistic variables that simulate a traditional regression-based approach to readability. The remaining networks determine readability from "visual…

This document discusses the measurement of reading ability and the readability of books by application of the Lexile framework. It begins by stating the importance of uniform measures. It then discusses the history of reading ability testing, based on the assumption that no researcher has been able to measure more than one kind of reading ability.…

A method is described for determining the reading level of materials using a computerized test. (MK)

Presents a readability formula suitable for passages from 40 to 99 words (provided they contain at least 3 sentences). (RS)

Rescales DRP-Difficulty (Degrees of Reading Power) into grade equivalent (GE) units using the estimated difficulty level values obtained from the Rauding Scale. Finds the revised scale is accurate to within one graded level for lower grade materials and to within two grade levels for upper grade materials. (MM)

Discusses methods of textual documentation that can be used for software documentation. Highlights include measurement of text comprehensibility; methods for the measurement of documentation quality, including readability and the Cloze Procedure; tools for the measurement of text readability; and the development of the Reading Measurability…

Research on schema theory and the psycholinguistic perspectives of reading suggest that the measures of readability currently used on second language tests be reconsidered. Because foreign language readers, especially in the early stages of language learning, often do not have the necessary schema or background knowledge, teachers should include…

"Lasbarhetsindex" ("Lix") is a readability formula developed in Sweden that holds promise for assessing text difficulty in other languages, including English. So far three separate studies have been conducted to test Lix with French and English texts, with German and English texts, and with Greek and English texts. In all three…

Readability estimates are usually based on measures of word difficulty and measures of sentence difficulty. Word difficulty is measured in two ways: by the structural size and complexity of words or by reference to phonomena of language use, such as word-list frequency or the regularity of spelling patterns. Sentence difficulty is measured only in…