Topic/Subject area: Choice of text
Author: Marianne Ruud, lektor, Nannestad videregående skole
Readability
Wouldn't it be great if we as teachers could find texts to fit each of our students. It would be wonderful to find texts tailor-made just for each one of them so that they experienced accomplishment and understanding. Unfortunately, this is a luxury we cannot afford as schools do not operate with that kind of money. Therefore, we have to find texts and books that come within a certain range of students' comprehension.
One of the most important instructional issues is determining the difficulty level of books. In determining the difficulty of texts, teachers have used various techniques in measuring the extent to which readers find texts comprehensible. This is called readability. As I mentioned, ideally it is possible to match texts to the appropriate reading levels of students. However, in reality, selections of texts have been made by teachers' intuitions. Usually teachers select texts based primarily on the analysis of the content, not taking into account both quantitative and qualitative factors. According to Baldwin et. al. (2000) in order to match the difficulty level of the text and the reading level of the student, both qualititative and quantitative factors must be evaluated. Quantitative factors include such language variables as word and sentence length. Factors like these can be measured with formulas. Qualitative factors such as a reader's prior knowledge, content, student interest etc. are more difficult to determine.
Quantitative Factors
As was mentioned earlier, the two most used language variables in readability formulas are word and sentence length, with sentence length being the more reliable of the two. There is a quick classroom method that is reliable and easy to use – the Raygor Readability Estimate (Raygor, 1977 in Baldwin et.al). This quantitative measurement is reliable because it eliminates a common source of error found in many readability forumlas. Attached to this article is a graph for the Raygor Readability Estimate. Here are the directions for completing the Raygor Readability Estimate:
- Count out three 100-word passages at the beginning, middle, and end of a textbook selection. Count proper nouns, but not numbers.
- Count the number of sentences in each 100-word passage, estimating to the nearest tenth for partial sentences.
- Count the number of words with six or more letters.
- Average the sentence length and word length measures over the three samples and plot the average on the graph. The grade level nearest the spot marked is the best esitmate of the difficulty of the selection. (Raygor : 63)
Due to the fact that passage difficulty changes with a text, it is important to choose several different texts. The more samples you evaluate, the more valid the result.
Qualitative Factors
Readability formulas appeal only to the linguistics aspects of print. Other factors need to be considered in comprehensively evaluating a text. Qualities in writing style vary. Readability formulas are insensitive to this. Readability formulas imply that short sentences are easier to understand. This may not always be the case since grammatical structures can vary, actually making shorter sentences more difficult to comprehend. Readability formulas do not take into consideration the explanations of complex concepts that may require longer sentences. Readabililtly formulas make no distinction between important content information and trivia.
Johnston (1997) says that a more productive way to match readers with texts is to have students choose a book and learn to develop a sense of whether or not the text is appropriate for them. When students pick a book and sample it, they decide if it is interesting and manageable. If not, they return the book and choose another one. Through the process of trial and error, students learn how to choose books and texts appropriate for them. If a student is struggling with a book, a teacher can be of great help by reading part of the book to the student. This will often result in the student being able to manage more difficult reading. As was mentioned earlier, familiarity with the content helps. If a student has some prior knowledge of the subject covered in a text, comprehension will be much easier. A well-illustrated book is easier than one without illustrations.
These are qualitative factors which should be considered in determining the readability of a text which affect the ease of reading:
- The student's history – familiarity of the text from previous readings and familiarity of the concepts in the text.
- Language in the text – familialrity with book language, structure, language patterns.
- Structure – the complexity of the plot for example.
- Vocabulary – simplicity, repetition, intensity of new words, easy to remember words etc.
- Format – lines per page, the complexity of page layout, quantity and quality of print, number of pages and line spacing.
- Illustrations
- Reader Reaction – desire to return to the text, stimulation and motivation
- Personal Control – reading rate, choice of material and choice of response
- Context and Goal – word level, accuracy vs. meaningfulness
- Teacher Intervention – getting the reader started, monitoring, supplying missing information
Readability is determined by a number of factors. Being critical as a teacher to these factors in choosing texts for our students to read is essential to helping readers be successful and to help them document their own development. The right combination of quantitative factors through readability formulas and qualitative factors catering to individuality and the individual's special needs should produce positive results.
References used for this article
Baldwin, R. Scott, Bean, Thomas W. & Readence, John E. (2000). Content Area Literacy, An Integrated Approach, 7th Edition. Iowa: Kendal/Hunt Publishing Company.
Johnston, Peter H. (1997). What Makes Literate Activity Easy or Difficult? In Knowing Literacy Constructive Literacy Assessment. (pp. 42-49). York, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers