Readability of selected introductory college physics textbooks

• Main Author: Canares, Alan R.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 1991
• Subjects: Physics > Textbooks; Textbooks > Readability; Curriculum and Instruction; Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/1416; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=8254&context=etd_masteral
• Institution: De La Salle University

This study evaluates the readability of four selected introductory college Physics textbooks used in engineering schools and their suitability to the students using them. Specifically, it attempts to determine the grade levels and student reading levels the readabilities of the textbooks evaluated are suitable to. The instruments used are the Flesch Readability Formula and the cloze test. The Flesch Formula, which consists of the reading ease score and the human interest score, is used to determine the readability grade levels of the books. The cloze test is used to determine the student reading levels the books are suitable to. The method of systematic random sampling was used in sampling the book passages used in the Flesch analysis and cloze test. The Flesch Readability Analysis revealed that the sample passages taken from the textbooks evaluated have an average readability rating suitable to college students. Moreover, the analysis revealed that three of the four books evaluated are considered dull according to Flesch's standards. Results of the cloze test, on the other hand, showed that three of the four textbooks are at the instructional level while one is at the independent level. The following conclusions were drawn based on the findings: 1. The textbooks in introductory college Physics used in most schools are within the reading ability of college students. 2. The language and style of writing of the authors of the books evaluated are not interesting to the intended users. 3. Most of the textbooks can be used by the students only with the supervision of their teachers. The study recommended that in the selection and adoption of a textbook, the grade level and the reading ability of its intended users must be considered. Second, teachers may resort to innovative teaching strategies to effectively use textbooks at the instructional level. Lastly, studies could be conducted to determine the readability of Physics and other science textbooks using other readability formulas.