The readability of school biology textbooks
- 1 December 1977
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Biological Education
- Vol. 11 (4) , 248-252
- https://doi.org/10.1080/00219266.1977.9654155
Abstract
In a study of 104 biology lessons, evidence was found of the widespread use of texts as sources of information, often unsupported by other teaching. The readability of three popular texts for the 14–16 age range was estimated by three different measures. Comprehension tests of material from the books (cloze tests) were given to 100 school biology pupils (aged 15–16 years). The results confirmed that the texts presented serious problems of comprehension for some pupils. Some implications for teachers and authors are discussed.Keywords
This publication has 4 references indexed in Scilit:
- An Examination of Readability Levels for Selected Basic Science TextsSchool Science and Mathematics, 1973
- A Technique for Measuring Reading Comprehension and ReadabilityELT Journal, 1971
- CLOZE TEST READABILITY: CRITERION REFERENCE SCORESJournal of Educational Measurement, 1968
- “Cloze Procedure”: A New Tool for Measuring ReadabilityJournalism Quarterly, 1953