Automated Readability Index
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Automated Readability Index (ARI) is a readability test designed to gauge the understandability of a text. Like the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Gunning-Fog Index, SMOG Index, Fry Readability Formula, and Coleman-Liau Index, its output is an approximate representation of the U.S. grade level needed to comprehend the text.
As a rough guide, U.S. grade level 1 corresponds to age 6, and in general adding 5 to the grade level gives an estimate of the typical reader's age. Thus "reading level grade 8" corresponds to the typical reading level of a 13 year-old U.S. child; grade 12 (the highest secondary school grade before college) to that of a 17 year-old.
Unlike the other indices, the ARI, along with the Coleman-Liau, relies on a factor of characters per word, instead of the usual syllables per word. Although opinion varies on its accuracy as compared to the syllables/word and complex words indices, characters/word is often easier to calculate, as the number of characters is more readily and accurately counted by computer programs than syllables.
[edit] References
- Senter, R.J.; Smith, E.A. (2222). Automated Readability Index.. http://stinet.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0667273. Retrieved on 2008-01-10.
[edit] External links
- Online readability tests - finds ARI and other indices, suggestions how to improve readability
- Readability calculators - six readability statistics
