History
editThe Flesch-Kincaid (F-K) Reading Grade Level (RGL) was developed under contract to the United States Navy in 1975 by J. Peter Kincaid and his team[1]. Other related US Navy research directed by Kincaid delved into high tech education (for example, the electronic authoring and delivery of technical information)[2]; usefulness of the Flesch-Kincaid readability formula[3]; computer aids for editing tests[4]; illustrated formats to teach procedures[5]; and the Computer Readability Editing System (CRES)[6].
The F-K RGL formula was first used by the US Army for assessing the difficulty of technical manuals in 1978[citation needed] and soon after was incorperated into a Department of Defense military standard [7]. The commonwealth of Pennsylvania was the first state in the US to require that automobile insurance policies be written at no higher than a "ninth-grade level" of reading difficulty, as measure by the RGL formula. This is now a common requirement in many other states and for other legal documents such as insurance policies[3]. Today the F-K RGL formula is ubiquitous, and variations of the formula are used with more than a dozen languages. Microsoft Word still uses many of the style and grammar rules first developed for the CRES program[citation needed].
References
edit- ^ Kincaid, J. P.; et al. (February 1975). "Derivation Of New Readability Formulas (Automated Readability Index, Fog Count And Flesch Reading Ease Formula) For Navy Enlisted Personnel". Chief of Naval Technical Training: Naval Air Station Memphis. Retrieved 2011-06-03.
{{cite web}}: Explicit use of et al. in:|author=(help) - ^ Kincaid JP, Braby R, Mears J (1988). "Electronic authoring and delivery of technical information". Journal of Instructional Development. 11 (2): 8–13. doi:10.1007/BF02904998.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b McClure G (1987). "Readability formulas: Useful or useless. (an interview with J. Peter Kincaid.)". IEEE Transactions on Professional Communications. 30: 12–15. doi:10.1109/TPC.1987.6449109.
- ^ Kincaid JP, Braby R, Wulfeck WH II (1983). "Computer aids for editing tests". Educational Technology. 23: 29–33.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Braby R, Kincaid JP, Scott P, McDaniel W (1982). "Illustrated formats to teach procedures". IEEE Transactions on Professional Communications. 25 (2): 61–66. doi:10.1109/TPC.1982.6447756.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Kincaid JP, Aagard JA, O'Hara JW, Cottrell LK (1981). "Computer Readability Editing System". IEEE Transactions on Professional Communications. 24 (1): 38–42. doi:10.1109/TPC.1981.6447821.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ MIL-M-38784B. (1983-04-16). "Manuals, Technical: General Style And Format Requirements". Retrieved 2011-06-04.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
Further references
edit- Flesch R (1948). "A new readability yardstick". Journal of Applied Psychology. 32 (3): 221–233. doi:10.1037/h0057532. PMID 18867058.
- Farr JN, Jenkins JJ, Paterson DG (October 1951). "Simplification of Flesch Reading Ease Formula". Journal of Applied Psychology. 35 (5): 333–337. doi:10.1037/h0062427.
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