The purpose of this article is to understand the function, logic, and impact of qualitative systems for analyzing text complexity, focusing on their benefits and imperfections. We identified two primary functions for their use: (a) to match texts to reader ability so that readers read books that are within their grasp, and (b) to unearth, and then…

Noting that four of the six most common readability formulas use the McCall-Crabbs Standard Test Lessons in Reading as the independent criterion of difficulty to establish validity, while the other two often site their correlation with the first four to determine validity, a study examined whether these lessons consisted of passage selections…

Describes the development and the components of an instrument designed to assess the contents of educational materials. (JM)

Selection of instructional materials for business and distributive education programs is increasingly difficult because there are more materials, new courses, and programs, matching instruction to the student, and some teacher options. The writer presents steps for use by school personnel in evaluation and adoption of text materials. (MF)

Two readability formulas were applied to two math and two reading series textbooks at the fourth, fifth, and sixth grade levels to see whether the publishers' suggested reading levels were accurate. Five samples were taken from each text and compared to the publishers' suggested usage according to grade level. Results showed that although formulas…