A Readability Study

It was the purpose of the readability study to find: (1) the readability levels of three textbooks in use in the Science and Social Studies Departments of Russell High School, Russell, Kansas; (2) the reading ability levels of students using theses textbooks; (3) the grade level determinations of the publishers of these textbooks; (4) the teachers’ opinions concerning the textbooks they were using in the content areas of science and social studies; and (5) the attitudes of the students enrolled in these areas in regard to the textbooks being used by them The following procedures were employed in conjunction with the study: (1) related literature concerning readability formulas was surveyed, and the Dale-Chall Readability Formula was chosen to be sued in the study. (2) Two content areas were selected from the offerings at Russell High School, and three textbooks used in the areas were examined. (3) Three hundred and thirty-seven students were tested with the Diagnostic Reading Test, Survey Section for their reading abilities. (4) These same 373 students were questioned concerning their attitudes about the textbooks under study. (5) The six teachers teaching in the content areas were questioned concerning their opinions about the books involved in the study. (6) The publishers of the three textbooks were asked about the treatability levels of the textbooks. The following discoveries were made as a result of the study: (1) The Dale-Chall Readability Formula showed that two out of the three books were one to five grades above the level at which they were being used. (2) The publishers indicated that the textbooks were to be used on the levels at which they were being used, but in two out of the three cases, the publisher grade determinations were in error. (3) The students liked the books in spite of the fact that two textbooks were too difficult for the reading ability of students, in that nearly 50 per cent of the students involved in the study did not have sufficient reading ability to read independently at the level of the books.