ERIC Number: EJ1285623
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 31
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0270-2711
EISSN: N/A
Does One Size Fit All? Exploring the Contribution of Text Features, Text Content, and Grade of Use on Comprehension
Mesmer, Heidi Anne E.; Hiebert, Elfrieda H.; Cunningham, James W.; Kapania, Madhu
Reading Psychology, v42 n1 p42-72 2020
Readability systems have once more become prominent in policy and practice because of recommendations in the Common Core State Standards. This study revisited two features of current text analysis (readability) systems: their generalizability to all grade levels and to all content areas. A database that encompassed texts across the grade bands and content areas and included aggregate comprehension performance on the texts was used to: (a) describe how the text features (i.e., word frequency, word length, sentence length) varied at different grade levels and within different subject areas and (b) examine if the prediction of comprehension with the text features was moderated by the grade or content area of the text. Results indicated that texts did having differing levels of various word features along both grade and content lines especially in the area of sentence length. In addition, content and grade moderated the relationship between sentence length and comprehension.
Descriptors: Readability, Reading Comprehension, Prediction, Instructional Program Divisions, Text Structure, Word Frequency, Sentence Structure, Difficulty Level, Elementary Secondary Education, Higher Education, Intellectual Disciplines
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education; Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A