UNIT 4: Readability Index Measurement 1

What is Readability? The feature of plain language that makes it easy to read Or Describes the ease with which a document can be read. 2

How to Measure Readability? Mathematical formulas were designed to assess the suitability of books for students at particular grade levels or ages. Formulas provide an objective measure of text difficulty that can be reported as a level. It is interpreted to mean that a reader must be reading at that level in order to understand the text. 3

The readability formulas are 80 percent accurate. They give a good rough estimate of the difficulty of a text. 4

Features of the Reader that affect Readability Readers: 1. Prior Knowledge 2. Reading skill (literacy) 3. Interest 4. Motivation Text:  Content  Style  Design  Organizatio n 5

Benefits of Readability Greater readability increases: Comprehension (understanding) Retention (memory) Reading Speed Persistence (reading more of the text) 6

Readability Formula 7 1.Rudolf Flesch his Reading Ease Readability formula. RE = – (1.015 x ASL) – (84.6 x ASW) RE = Readability Ease ASL = Average Sentence Length (i.e., the number of words divided by the number of sentences) ASW = Average number of syllables per word (i.e., the number of syllables divided by the number of words)

reading-ease-readability-formula.php Scores: : Very Easy : Easy : Fairly Easy : Standard : Fairly Difficult : Difficult 0-29 : Very Difficult /Confusing 8

Flesch Reading Ease score: 22.8 (text scale) Flesch Reading Ease scored your text: very difficult to read. Reading Level: very difficult to read. Reader's Age: College graduate 9

2. Spache Readability Formula The Spache Formula considers “unfamiliar words” as words that 3rd grade and below. Spache Readability Index/Grade Level = (0.141 X ASL) + (0.086 X PDW) where, ASL = Average Sentence Length PDW = Percentage of Difficult Words 10

formula.php 11 ADJUSTED SCOREGRADE LEVEL 4.9 and BelowGrade 4 and Below 5.0 to 5.9Grades to 6.9Grades to 7.9Grades to 8.9Grades to 9.9Grades (College) 10 and Above Grades 16 and Above (College Graduate)

Spache Readability Index: 15.6 Grade level: College Graduate 12