Evaluating Texts
You've all had your feet measured when buying shoes. Did you ever think that the shoe would need to be measured, too? If you take a literacy assessment course, you will learn how to measure the reading ability of each of your readers. In this class, you learn how to measure the text. Our goal is to find text that each student can read. That way we can get a good fit!
Pardon my mixed metaphors!
What can we predict about the reading levels in your classroom based on the bell curve?
Here's what the Common Core Standards say about 3 ways to consider how difficult a text would be to read.
Part 1: Qualitative Dimensions of Text Complexity
Here's how to think through how difficult something would be to read:
The qualities of a piece of writing make it easier or harder to read.
Abstract thinking is harder to read:
"By object is meant some element in the complex whole that is defined in abstraction from the whole of which it is a distinction." John Dewey
Simple sentence structure is easier to than complex sentences.
Simple sentence structure: I dug a hole.
Complex sentence structure: The hole was to be twice as deep and twice as wide as the root ball of the plant, so, after finding the spade, I dug through rock and clay until the opening in the ground was the right size.
Some sentences have a single level of meaning, while others imply additional meanings.
Single level of meaning: I need to drink more water.
Double level of meaning: “Marriage is a fine institution, but I'm not ready for an institution.” Mae West
Figurative language or ambiguous language can also increase complexity, especially for English Language Learners. Imagine what reading this sentence must be like to someone who is not familiar with the idiom!
My neighbor just kicked the bucket.
Long sentences will obviously be harder for some readers.
Virginia Woolf, “Mrs. Dalloway.” 116 words, taken from http://thejohnfox.com/long-sentences
“It was not to them (not to Hugh, or Richard, or even to devoted Miss Brush) the liberator of the pent egotism, which is a strong martial woman, well nourished, well descended, of direct impulses, downright feelings, and little introspective power (broad and simple–why could not every one be broad and simple? she asked) feels rise within her, once youth is past, and must eject upon some object–it may be Emigration, it may be Emancipation; but whatever it be, this object round which the essence of her soul is daily secreted, becomes inevitably prismatic, lustrous, half looking glass, half precious stone; now carefully hidden in case people should sneer at it; now proudly displayed.”
Vocabulary difficulty will have to be judged based on your experience with students of this grade level, but we have no way of measuring work knowledge other than asking students what words mean. Nevertheless, if you suspect students don't know some of the word meanings, you will have to teach the words that are crucial to understanding the passage.
Background knowledge of the discipline also will have to be judged from your experience with students. What do your students need to be taught about your discipline before they can understand the passage? For example, if a nursing student was to read the following, the instructor would have to know that the student knew the parts of the eye: "Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of blindness. It occurs when diabetes damages the tiny blood vessels inside the retina, the light sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. A healthy retina is needed for good vision, and if it is progressively damaged; can result in visual loss and even blindness." (taken from http://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases_conditions/hic_Diabetes_Basics/endo_description).
Part 2: Quantitative Dimensions of Text Complexity
Here's how to measure readability in numbers:
You know that long, confusing sentences with multi-syllable words are harder to read. Readability of a text can be estimated by counting words, counting syllables, counting sentences, and by some other calculations. Some of the more famous readability estimating systems are the Flesch Reading Ease Formula,the Dale-Chall formula, the Gunning Fog Index, the Fry Readability Graph, and the Flesch-Kincaid Readability Estimate.
This readability calculator will average the results of several estimates to give you a fairly close judgment on how difficult the text will be for your students. The grade level that you get by using these formulas is just ONE factor in deciding whether the text is a good fit for your students.
Here's a video that shows how to check the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level of a piece of writing. Please enlarge the picture so you can see the details.
Part 3: Reader and Task Considerations Regarding Text Complexity
"Reader and Task considerations"...are to be determined locally with reference to such variables as a student’s motivation, knowledge, and experiences as well as purpose and the complexity of the task assigned and the questions posed." (from the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts, Appendix A). In other words, are the students prepared motivationally and do they have the background to understand the passage?
Reader Variables
In the reader, some things affecting reading ability are:
- Prior knowledge
- Reading skill
- Interest
- Motivation
- Vocabulary
What can the teacher do to increase the readability of a particular piece of writing?
Extensive research has shown that easy-reading text improves
–Comprehension
–Retention (remembering what you read)
–Reading speed
–Reading persistence (continuing to read)
What does difficult text do to a reader?
