Masters Theses

Date of Award

5-1992

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Teacher Education

Major Professor

Jean Schindler

Committee Members

Kath Greenburg, Phyllis Huff

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the comprehensive evaluation including readability levels and reinforcement of vocabulary words of five series of seventh and eight grade reading textbooks. The data were collected using two instruments: The Harris-Jacobson Wide Range Readability Formula (Harris & Sipay, 1985) was used to compute the readability score for five passages from each of the ten textbooks. The Worksheet for Analysis of Instructional Materials Beyond Readability Scales, Revised (Schindler, 1991) was additionally used to compute the percentage of reinforcement of vocabulary words emphasized in the student workbook for each particular story that was used for the readability passages. The results of the comprehensive evaluation revealed that all of the investigated textbooks are above the grade levels stated by the publishers. All of the textbooks have intertext inconsistencies. The samples researched do not progress from easier selections at the beginning to harder ones at the end of the textbook. Only five percent of the investigated vocabulary words were reinforced an appropriate number of times (five or more). Since reading is one of the ways children learn in school and very important in combating illiteracy, this study suggested implications for publishers, teachers and further research that may benefit students.

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