TxReadability from the Accessibility Institute
   a multi-language readability tool

Frequently Asked Questions

Question 1: What is the difference between 'Total words' and 'Total words sampled'?

'Total words' displays the number of words submitted for analysis, while 'Total words sampled' indicates the number of words used in the readability calculation.

Question 2: Why don't 'Total words' match 'Total words sampled'?

For the Flesch-Kincaid (FK) and Flesch Reading Ease (Flesch RE) scores (Text only analysis), 'Total words' may not match 'Total words sampled' for one or more of the following reasons:

• Some or all of the text has no sentence-ending punctuation.
• Single digit numbers are included in 'Total words' but not in 'Total words sampled'.

For the Forcast scores (Web page analysis), 'Total words' may not match 'Total words sampled' in cases where total words in the content exceeds 150 or any multiple of 150. The identification of the words for analysis is discontinued at the last (multiple-of-) 150-word mark. For instance, for a Web page with 550 'Total words', only the first 450 words (i.e. 3 sets of 150) is analyzed by the tool. Thus, 'Total words sampled' is 450.

Question 3: Using the Flesch-Kincaid and Flesch Reading Ease formulas, how is the average number of syllables per word calculated?

The average number of syllables per word is obtained after calculating the syllable average for each 100-word chunk.

Question 4: Using the Forcast formula, how is the average number of one-syllable words calculated?

The number of one-syllable words is obtained for each set of 150 words sampled, then averaged by the number of sets of 150 words.

When 'total words sampled' is less than 150, the average number of one-syllable words is calculated by adjusting the 'one-syllable words sampled' proportionally for 150 words.

Question 5: Using the Huerta formula, how is the average number of one-syllable words calculated?

The average number of syllables per 100 words is obtained by dividing the number of syllables by the total number of words for each 100-word chunk.

Question 6: Why are the word counts different for the same text when submitting a Web page address vs. Text only?

Different word counts may arise due to one or more of the following reasons:

• Title bar content is analyzed in Web page analysis but not in Text only analysis.
• Content written in Javascript or using other dynamically generated elements which cannot be analyzed via Web page submission may have been pasted in and analyzed using Text only method.

See Web page vs. Text only Analyses for more detailed information.

Question 7: For analysis of English content, what is the relationship between Forcast (Web page analysis) and Flesch-Kincaid (Text only analysis) grade levels?

Forcast grades are reported to differ from Flesch-Kincaid grade levels by approximately two years (Zakaluk & Samuels, 1988).

See Differences among the Forcast, Flesch-Kincaid, and Flesch Reading Ease Formulas for more detailed information.

Reference

Zakaluk, B. L., & Samuels, S. J. (1988). Readability: Its past, present, and future. Newark: International Reading Association.

Funding in part provided through a subcontract with the Texas Technology Access Program/Texas Center for Disability Studies from funds authorized by the Assistive Technology Act of 1998 as amended, and administered by the Rehabilitative Services Administration.

The Accessibility Institute
The University of Texas at Austin
Flawn Academic Center, FAC 248C
1 University Station G9600
Austin, Texas 78712
Phone: (512) 495-4288, Fax: (512) 495-4524
utaccess@www.utexas.edu