UNIT 3:
READABILITY INDEX
MEASUREMENT
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WHAT IS READABILITY?
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1. The feature of plain language that makes it
easy to read,
2. Describes the ease with which a document
can be read.
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HOW TO MEASURE READABILITY?
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By using Mathematical formulas.
The formulas were designed:1. to assess the suitability of books for students at particular
grade levels or ages.
2. Formulas provide an objective measure of text difficulty that
can be reported as a level.
3. It is interpreted to mean that a reader must be reading at that
level in order to understand the text.
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The readability formulas are 80
percent accurate.
They give a good rough
estimate of the difficulty of a
text.
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FEATURES THAT AFFECT
READABILITY
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Readers:
1. Prior Knowledge
2. Reading skill (literacy)
3. Interest
4. Motivation
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Text:
1. Content
2. Style
3. Design
4. Organization
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BENEFITS OF READABILITY
1. Comprehension (understanding)
2. Retention (memory)
3. Reading Speed
4. Persistence (reading more of the text)
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READABILITY FORMULA
Rudolf Flesch
Flesch Reading Ease Formula is considered as one of the oldest
and most accurate readability formulas. The Flesch Reading Ease
Formula is a simple approach to assess the grade-level of the
reader. It’s also one of the few accurate measures around that we
can rely on without too much scrutiny. This formula is best used on
school text.
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RE = 206.835 – (1.015 x ASL) – (84.6 x ASW)
RE = Readability Ease
ASL = Average Sentence Length (the number of words
divided by the number of sentences)
ASW = Average number of syllables per word (the
number of syllables divided by the number of words)
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http://www.readabilityformulas.com/fleschreading-ease-readability-formula.php
Scores:
90-100 : Very Easy
80-89 : Easy
70-79 : Fairly Easy
60-69 : Standard
50-59 : Fairly Difficult
30-49 : Difficult
0-29 : Very Difficult /Confusing
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