| We can trace the origin of readability formulas during | | | | Presently, there are over 200 readability formulas with |
| the late 19th Century in the United States. The schools | | | | varying degrees of accuracy and success rate. Many |
| in the US did not routinely grade students until 1847 | | | | scholars debate about which readability formula is |
| when the first graded school opened in Boston with a | | | | foolproof. All formulas have some significance in |
| series of books prepared for each grade. Junior high | | | | improving text readability. |
| school science teachers wanted to teach scientific | | | | Disadvantages of Using Readability Formulas |
| facts and methods in plain English, rather than teaching | | | | 1. "Readability" is different from "understand-ability." |
| complicated science vocabulary. As a result, teachers, | | | | Unfortunately, readability formulas are not much help if |
| librarians, and scholars developed primitive readability | | | | you want to know if the target audience will |
| formulas to determine what seemed readable to their | | | | understand the text. |
| students. | | | | 2. Readability formulas also cannot measure the |
| No one had ever entertained the thought of grading | | | | complexity of a word or phrase to pinpoint where you |
| adults. The US Military took the first step in grading | | | | need to correct it. |
| adults in 1917. Chicago took the clue from the military | | | | 3. The admirers of literary geniuses largely see |
| and started grading civilians in 1937. Earlier studies had | | | | readability formulas as an affront to their work. Most |
| revealed that general adult readers in the United | | | | great literary works fail to pass the readability tests, |
| States had limited reading ability. | | | | but this doesn't mean that those works are inferior in |
| The breakthrough of readability formulas was the | | | | quality. The critics view readability formulas as |
| publication of The Teacher's Word Book by Edward | | | | over-simplification and a critique of creative writing. |
| Thorndike in 1921. In his book, Thorndike researched | | | | 4. Due to many readability formulas, there is an |
| how often general literature used difficult words. For | | | | increasing chance of getting wide variations in results |
| the first time, a notable scholar suggested a way to | | | | of a same text. |
| measure difficult words through mathematical formulas. | | | | 5. Readability formulas cannot measure everything that |
| Early researchers studied surface characteristics of | | | | contributes to how readable a book is for a student, |
| written texts to determine the extent readers could | | | | any more than a reading test can measure a student's |
| comprehend texts. Then they compared the data with | | | | reading behavior. |
| certain predetermined standards; one such standard | | | | 6. Readability formulas can't measure the context, prior |
| was tabulating the average grade level of students | | | | knowledge, interest level, difficulty of concepts, or |
| who could correctly answer a certain percentage of | | | | coherence of text. |
| questions from the text. The characteristics with the | | | | 7. Readability formulas apply mathematics to literature. |
| most accurate standards were judged as indices of | | | | This idea, itself, is not favored by language scholars |
| readability. These characteristics were worked upon | | | | and researchers. |
| and developed into readability formulas. | | | | Advantages of Using Readability Formulas |
| Thorndike's book was followed by another landmark | | | | 1. By definition, readability formulas measure the |
| work by George Kingsley Zipf in 1949. Zipf came up | | | | grade-level readers must have to read a given text. |
| with Human Behavior and The Principle of Least Effort, | | | | The results from using readability formulas provide the |
| in which he declared a mathematical relationship | | | | writer of the text with much needed information to |
| between the hard and easy words, called Zipf's Curve. | | | | reach his target audience. |
| Many researchers have contributed to developing | | | | 2. Readability formulas do not require the (targeted) |
| readability formulas. Rudolf Flesch is one of the better | | | | readers to first go through the text to decide if the |
| known developers of a readability formula called | | | | text is too hard or too easy to read. By using |
| Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level. His formula uses the | | | | readability formulas, you can know ahead of time if |
| number of syllables per 100 words and the average | | | | your readers can understand your material. This saves |
| number of words per sentence. Flesch said that | | | | you time and money. |
| writers can make their texts easier to read by using | | | | 3. Readability formulas are text-based formulas; many |
| shorter words and shorter sentences. | | | | researchers and writers find them easy-to-use. |
| In 1963 George R. Klare published his book, The | | | | 4. Readability formulas help the text-creators convert |
| Measurement of Readability, in which he reviewed the | | | | the document into plain language if the readability levels |
| efforts to improve comprehensible language by | | | | are low (which is the case with the reading levels of |
| revising the texts to lower readability scores. He also | | | | many American people), or too high (which is normally |
| suggested using readability formulas as an aid to | | | | the case with higher-studies' students, researchers and |
| increase effectiveness of writing and speaking. Klare | | | | professionals). |
| published over 80 papers and studies on readability in | | | | 5. Using readability formulas to perfect a document |
| professional and scholarly journals. He died in 2006. | | | | can help readers to increase their retention, |
| Some of the other significant contributors of readability | | | | comprehension, and speed of reading; this, in turn, |
| formulas include Edgar Dale, Jeanne Chall, Robert | | | | smoothens out the work-schedule of your readers. |
| Gunning, Ed Fry, Tom Trabasso, and J. Peter Kinkaid, | | | | 6. A readable text always attracts a larger |
| etc. | | | | reader-base. |