An evaluation of the readability of five social studies series

The purpose of this study was to evaluate five social studies series as to the readability scores, consistency of readability scores within the texts, and the reinforcement of new vocabulary words. The readability scores were calculated by using the Harris-Jacobson Wide Range Readability Formula. The new vocabulary words introduced in each series were listed on the Worksheet for Analysis of Instructional Materials Beyond Readability Scales (Schindler, 1980). The reinforcements of the new vocabulary words were checked on this worksheet.

Only two of the five publishers had every text written at a readability level which was the same as the publishers’ estimated grade level. The five social studies series were not consistent throughout each text with regard to readability, with only three of the fifteen texts examined having computed readabilities for each sample within one year of the actual mean readability of the text. The five social studies series also did not adequately reinforce new vocabulary words the recommended five or more than five times. These findings stress the need for publishers and educators to carefully evaluate the readability of textbooks in order to insure that all students can read and comprehend the information presented to them in this major teaching tool.