Page 32 - 2023_Jour_89-5

Table
Grade Level Tabulation of Science Textbooks
Grade Fry Raygor Dale- Spache Read Con Mean
(7)
Level (1) (1) Chall (1) (10 or
11)
(1)
Series
A
Dr. Gilbert Naizer is a 1 5.33 3.00 * 4.33 4.67 4.33*
professor at Texas A&M 2 4.33 3.00 * 3.67 4.00 3.75*
University-Commerce in
the College of Education, 3 6.67 3.33 * 4.67 6.33 5.25*
with a focus on science 4 10.33 4.00 8.00 7.00 7.00 7.27**
education. He has
acquired numerous 5 7.00 4.00 7.33 ** 6.67 6.25*
state and federal funds 6 12.00 5.00 10.00 ** 9.00 9.00*
to support initiatives 7 12.30 4.00 11.00 ** 9.00 9.08*
for STEM teaching. His
research interests include 8 12.00 4.33 8.67 ** 9.00 8.50*
science education at both Series
the undergraduate and B
graduate levels.
1 4.00 3.00 * 3.33 4.00 3.58*
Gilbert.Naizer@tamuc.edu 2 4.33 3.00 * 3.00 3.67 3.50*
3 7.00 3.33 * 6.00 5.67 5.50*
4 9.00 3.67 7.67 8.67 7.33 7.27**

5 7.67 4.00 8.00 ** 6.33 6.5*
6 9.67 5.67 8.33 ** 8.67 8.08*
7 13.0 6.33 9.00 ** 10.0 9.58*
8 8.33 4.33 9.00 ** 7.33 7.25*

Notes. (N) - Number of tests done with the formula
*Dale is used only for Grade 4 and higher
** Spache is used only for Grade 4 and lower
M* had 10 scores averaged
M**had 11 scores averaged

Discussion
Even though readability formulas cannot tell if the target audience will understand
the text, they can reveal if a text is written at the correct grade level for the students
for whom the textbook was written. This is an important difference, as most states'
learning objectives say that students must be able to read at grade level. As shown,
the textbooks expect students to read above their grade levels, which we do not
believe is an acceptable practice as research has shown that readers of any age shut
down, stop reading, and are less likely to be motivated to read books and learn new
concepts that are too challenging. Thus, if educators want students to have positive
attitudes and enthusiasm for learning about the plethora of science concepts, how
those concepts relate to everyday life, and how they impact our Earth, we need
science textbooks that students can read readily.
Accountability is a wonderful thing when it happens correctly. For example, the

30 The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin: International Journal for Professional Educators