The study reported in this paper was designed to describe the differences between the reading-difficulty levels of primary textbooks used in first-semester freshman general studies courses and the reading skills of the students enrolled in those courses, and to compare the Flesch Reading Ease Formula with the SMOG Grading Formula. Separate sections of the paper introduce the study, review germane literature, describe the procedures used in conducting the investigation, analyze the statistical treatment of the data gathered for the study, and discuss findings, conclusions, and implications of the study along with recommendations for future research. A selected bibliography of relevant publications is included; appendixes list the textbooks used in the study, explain how to use the two readability formulas, and present an interpolation of Flesch scores. Numerous tables are provided. The major finding of the study was that most of the textbooks were written on a level significantly above the reading-ability levels of the students who were to use them. No statistically significant difference was found between the two reading formulas. (GW)