Northwest Center for Holocaust, Genocide and Ethnocide Education

Readability Analysis Tools 2

The Importance of Triangulation

Two tools for measuring readability are FORMULAE and CHECKLISTS.  Formulae usually measure vocabulary difficulty and sentence difficulty. Checklists measure ease and difficulty of text, but do find grade levels.  In the guidelines for assessment, the International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English recommend that multiple sources of data be employed.  Hence a third point is necessary to triangulate this data.   The third point is  STUDENT FEEDBACK.  This third point in the triangle is necessary to assure the text writer that the text is significant for the audience for which it is intended.   To gather this data, it is recommended that students be asked to complete a checklist after they have read and discussed the documents in question.

Please Note: The evaluators only examined FORMULAS and CHECKLISTS.  To complete the readability triangle, student feedback is highly recommended. 

(Figure 3) - triangulation diagram (.pdf file)

Evaluation of Results and Suggestions
Appropriate for students in a 10th grade class:

Documents # 2,3,4,6 and 9
These remaining documents all scored at or under the 10th grade level on the Fry Readability chart.  We have concluded that these document are appropriate for use at this level.  Please see the sample recommendations to make text more accessible if you feel, through your own judgement, that these documents need supplements. 

Problem Documents with recommendations:  
a) Document #1 – Letter to President Truman from Guy von Dardel
The document’s Fry Readability level was charted at 15th to 17th grade.  This letter scored well on readability checklists, so the difference between the two scales may be a result of the frequent use of numerals in the text and the frequent use of proper nouns.  The suggestions to help make this text more readable for the audience intended are as follows:

• Create a gloss or reading guide to accompany the text (see samples).
• Create a vocabulary list to be used with the text and bold difficult words (see samples).
• Attach a map or pictures with text to help capture students’ attentions.

The text seems to be very pertinent to the subject and has excellent potential for easy access to students at the 10^th grade level.

 b) Document #5 – Enigma of the Righteous Persons
This document scored at the highest end of the Fry Readability graph.  It bears the distinction of being the     most obtuse, dense, and inaccessible document under consideration.  This document, as written, appears to be wholly inappropriate for readers at the 10th grade level.

• It is recommended that this document be either rewritten entirely or removed form the student workbook. 

c) Document #7 – New York Times Article
This document scored at the 12th to 15th grade on the Fry Readability chart and is inappropriate for readers at the 10th grade level, as written.  The sentences are very long, vocabulary very difficult, and lack of easy access to the material.  Despite this, the article contains a wealth of information relevant to the main concepts of the documents under review.  The authors have provided sample instructional materials so that this text may still be used.  (PLEASE SEE SAMPLE SUPPLEMENTARY INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS FOR THIS ARTICLE)

d) Document # 8 – Help to Jews from “Zegota” in Poland
This document’s Fry Readability level was charted at 12th to 16th grade.  This document has a good intorduction, but lacks some important and helpful tools for comprehension.  The problem that seems to arise in the readability checklists is that there is vocabulary in this document that seems far above the 10th grade reading level.  The suggestions to help make this text more readable for the audience intended are as follows:

• Create a vocabulary list to accompany the text (see sample).
• Change the title to be more captivating for 10th grade students.
• Highlight, or bold, the introductory paragraph.
• Use bolded headings for the different sections of the text.
• Attach a picture or map of Poland to paint a picture for the reader.

Because this is an important and powerful document, a 10th grader should have full access to the text.  This text does not necessarily need to be re-written, but should be dressed up to captivate the reader and make it more usable in a 10th grade classroom.

 e) Document #10 – Raoul Wallenburg’s Last Report to Sweden
This document’s Fry Readability level was charted at 15th to 17th grade.  It is possible that the results of that formula have been skewed by the frequent use of numbers in the text (see explanation of Fry Readability Graph).  The text has a good use of an introduction to set up the reader for the content.  The suggestions for the improvement of the text for a 10th grade classroom are as follows:

• Highlight, or bold, titles an headings.
• Bold the introduction.
• Create a list of the people mentioned in the text and an explanation of them (like a vocabulary list format, but about the people).
• Pictures can only be beneficial.

Here are four instructional tools that educators may employ to assist their students in reading difficult texts (those texts that read above the skill level of students).  Following the descriptions of these tools are SAMPLES that we feel would help improve DOCUMENT #7 – the New York Times Article to be more accessible to 10^th grade students. 

Instructional Tools

• Summary/ Introduction (Advanced Organizer)

A summary or introduction to the text gives a reader a preview of what is going to be read.  Students can use this information to help them gather background knowledge of the text before they read it.  Summaries and introductions also help the reader prepare himself or herself to read the text.  This should be given to students before they read the text.

• Vocabulary List

A vocabulary list an provide students with a means to understand difficult or unfamiliar words in the text.  In  this sample, students are given the word, the definition, and the use of the word in the text.  This can be given to students before they read the text and can be used to accompany the text.

• Reading Guides 

Reading guides function by having the student answer questions about the text.  The questions serve to assist the student in understanding vocabulary and help them in recognizing the key concepts of the materials.  Additionally, reading guides assist students in working through difficult reading materials without the help of the teacher, which is an important consideration for busy classrooms or for homework assignments.  The guide must be given to students before they read the text.

• Glossing

Glossing involves providing students with notes, in the margin of what is being read,  that assist the reader in understanding the material.  These marginal notes (the Gloss) can provide the reader with a summary of the main ideas, clarification and explanations of difficult texts, synonyms or definitions of important vocabulary, and ask the student to consider questions about the text.  The Gloss serves as an “assistant” to the reader and guides then through difficult texts.  The Gloss must be given to the student before the read the text.

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Contents

Introduction
Definition of Readability
Description of Readability Tools Used
Figure 1-Fry Readability Analysis of Documents 
Figure 2-Marshall’s Readability Checklist of Documents
Importance of Triangulation
Triangulation Figure 3
Evaluation Results and Suggestions
Instructional Tools 
Sample Summary
Sample Vocabulary List
Figure 4-Sample Gloss
Figure 5-Sample Reading Guide
Bibliography

 

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