Use of the Flesch reading ease formula in selecting social studies material
Date
1973
Authors
Bendall, William John
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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine whether the assigned social studies text for grade eight was written at the appropriate readability level, and whether the readability level of such textual material had any effect on student achievement.
The subjects for this study were enrolled in three, grade eight, social studies classes at Reynolds Secondary School in School District #61, Victoria, B.C. All students had been assigned to their respective classes without regard to ability in English.
The design involved the selection of a series of passages from t he text for testing as to difficulty by the Flesch Readability Formula and for rewriting at three specific levels of difficulty - grade six, grade eight, and grade ten. Each of the three classes participating in the study was required to read the six rewritten selections, two at each level of difficulty. After reading each selection, student comprehension was tested.
Statistical procedures were then employed to determine if there were any significant differences between the means of the test scores. The results showed that student achievement was significantly higher on tests based on selections written at the lowest readability level. Also, when rated by the Flesch formula, the text was found to be written at an average readability level considerably higher than grade eight.
It was concluded that the grade eight text is not written at the appropriate level of readability. When the material is rewritten at an appropriate level, student achievement improves.
It is recommended that (1} texts should be chosen which are written at the appropriate grade level, (2) members of textbook committees end classroom teachers should make use of readability formulas when selecting textbooks.