7. Predictors of text difficulty
•Semantic (word) complexity
▫ Word length (number of letters or
number of syllables), or
▫ Vocabulary lists of words known to
students in particular grades
•Syntactic (sentence) difficulty
▫ Number of words per sentence
7
10. Flesch-Kincaid in MS Word
Calculation:
0.39 x (average words per
sentence)
+ 11.8 x (average syllables
per word)
– 15.9
_____________________
Grade Level
10
11. Accelerated Reader ATOS Formula
Book (or grade) level =
1.95 x (AvgWords per sentence)
+ .46 x (AvgGrade of 100 most
frequent words)
+ 1.74 x (AvgCharacters per
word)
-8.54
11
18. Qualitative Leveling Components
Format
1. Amount of text
2. Size of text
3. Layout of text and images
4. Capitalization and punctuation
Language structure
1. Vocabulary
2. Predictability
3. Repetition
4. Simple vs. complex sentences
Text support
1. Pictures or illustrations
2. Contrast of text with background
3. Student familiarity or experience
4. Definitions or anecdotes
18
20. 3 Types of Leveling Systems
1.Traditional quantitative
• SMOG, Fry, ATOS, Flesch-Kincaid
2.2nd generation quantitative
• Lexile, Degrees of Reading Power
3.Qualitative
• Fountas-Pinnell, Reading Recovery
20
21. Positive Aspects of Leveling
1. Match students and books for
instruction
2. Success motivates continued reading
3. Not too easy, not too hard reading
results in progress
4. Identifying book levels assists with
selection
21
22. Cautions about Leveling
1. Focus on reading level limits choice
2. Skewed vision of purpose of reading
3. Leveling not a precise science
4. These systems not appropriate for
ELL, adults, teens or special
populations
22