Readability Assessments of Elementary Level Microcomputer Courseware

This article offers some insights into readability levels of selected microcomputer courseware designed for the elementary grades, and into the effectiveness of a microcomputer readability program developed by the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium. Commercially available courseware was selected on the basis of publishers' statements of suitability for elementary grades, then analyzed using the Spache and the Dale-Chall readability formulas. The same courseware was then analyzed by using the MECC microcomputer program for assessing readability. Results indicated that publishers' statements about grade level suitability must be used with caution. As well, results indicated that, while the MECC Spache formula gave results one could use with confidence, the MECC Dale-Chall formula did not.