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SMOG Readability Formula
The SMOG(1)
formula is a recommended(2)
and tested(3)
method for grading the readability of written materials. The method
is quick, simple to use and particularly useful for shorter
materials, e.g., a study's information pamphlet or consent form. To
calculate the SMOG reading level, begin with the entire written work
being assessed and follow these steps:
-
Count off 10 consecutive sentences near the
beginning, in the middle, and near the end of the text. If the
text has fewer than 30 sentences, use as many as are provided.
-
Count the number of words containing 3 or more
syllables (polysyllabic), including repetitions of the same
word.
-
Look up the approximate grade level on the SMOG
conversion table below:
|
Total Polysyllabic
Word Count |
Approximate Grade
Level
(+1.5 Grades) |
|
1-6 |
5 |
|
7-12 |
6 |
|
13-20 |
7 |
|
21-30 |
8 |
|
31-42 |
9 |
|
43-56 |
10 |
|
57-72 |
11 |
|
73-90 |
12 |
|
91-110 |
13 |
|
111-132 |
14 |
|
133-156 |
15 |
|
157-182 |
16 |
|
183-210 |
17 |
|
211-240 |
18 |
When using the
SMOG formula:
-
A sentence is defined as a string of words
punctuated with a period, an exclamation mark, or a question
mark. Consider long sentences with a semi-colon as two
sentences.
-
Hyphenated words are considered as one word.
-
Numbers which are written should be counted. If
written in numeric form, they should be pronounced to determine
if they are polysyllabic.
-
Proper nouns, if polysyllabic, should be counted.
-
Abbreviations should be read as though
unabbreviated to determine if they are polysyllabic. However,
abbreviations should be avoided unless commonly known.
-
If the written piece being graded is shorter than
30 sentences, approach it as follows:
-
Count all
of the polysyllabic words in the test.
-
Count the
number of sentences.
-
Find the
average number of polysyllabic words per sentence, i.e.:
Total # of
polysyllabic words
Average = Total # of sentences
-
Multiply
that average by the average number of sentences
short of 30.
-
Add that
figure on to the total number of polysyllabic words.
-
Compare the
number of polysyllabic words in the SMOG conversion table.
SPANISH READABILITY FORMULAS
Crawford, A.N.
(March 1984). A Spanish language
Fry type readability procedure: Elementary level. Los
Angeles: Bilingual Education Paper Series, Evaluation Dissemination
and Assessment Center, California State University, Los Angeles,
7:1-17.
Garcia, W.F.
(1976). Assessing readability
for Spanish as a second language: The Fry graph and cloze procedure.
Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Teachers College, Columbia
University.
Gilliam, B.,
Pena, S.C., and Mountain, L. (1980). "The Fry graph applied to
Spanish readability." The
Reading Teacher, 33:426-430.
Spaulding, S.
(1956). "A Spanish Readability formula."
The Modern Language Journal.
40:433-441.
Spaulding, S.
(1951). "Two formulas for estimating the reading difficulty of
Spanish." Educational Research
Bulletin, 30:117-124
Acknowledgment
Thanks
to Dr. Mary S. Neumann, DHAP, NCHSTP, for her research of SMOG and
her assistance based on her wide use of the method to improve the
readability of materials produced by CDC or through CDC grant
support. Thanks also for her research of the Spanish language
formulas which appear in the guide
"Developing Effective Educational Print Materials" which she authored
with the TEB, DSTDP, NCHSTP.
|
Readable Replacement
Words/Phrases for Polysyllabic Terms Common to CDC
Consent Forms |
|
Common Polysyllabic
Terms in CDC Consents |
Possible Replacement
Words/Phrases |
|
Additional information about |
Other
facts about/more facts about |
|
Allowing |
Letting |
|
Blood
will be collected |
Blood
will be taken |
|
By
agreeing |
If you
agree |
|
By
telephone |
By
phone |
|
Comparison group |
A group
used to compare results |
|
Commonly |
Most
often |
|
Compensate |
Repay |
|
Confidential/Sensitive |
Private |
|
Consider |
Think
about |
|
Continue/Continued |
Keep on
going/Kept on going |
|
Convenient |
Handy |
|
Currently receiving |
Now
getting |
|
Decision |
Choice |
|
Deletec |
Erased |
|
Description |
A
statement which describes |
|
Determine whether |
Learn
if |
|
Developed |
Put in
place |
|
Directly |
In a
direct way |
|
Discomfort |
Worry/woe/aches/soreness |
|
Discover/discovered |
Find/found |
|
Educational background |
Level
of schooling |
|
Enrolling |
Joining/being in |
|
Entitled to otherwise |
Have a
right to receive apart
from this |
|
Especially |
Mainly |
|
Evidence of |
Signs
of/proof of |
|
Explanation |
A
statement which explains |
|
Exposure to |
Risk of
getting |
|
For
example |
For
instance |
|
For
study purposes |
To
carry out the study |
|
However |
But/yet |
|
Implemented |
Put in
placew |
|
In
addition |
Also |
|
Including |
Along
with |
|
Infected with the... |
Having/with the... |
|
Information |
Facts |
|
Injury |
Harm |
|
Interested in... |
Would
like to know about... |
|
In this
community |
Around
here |
|
Make it
possible to.. |
Allow
us to... |
|
Medical
record |
Health
record |
|
Monitor |
Check
on |
|
Participate/participating |
Be
in/being in |
|
Participation in... |
Being
part of... |
|
Permitted |
Allowed |
|
Physician |
Doctor |
|
Pregnancy outcomes |
Birth
outcomes |
|
Previous studies |
Studies
done before |
|
Previously unrecognized virus/ |
Virus
we did not know about |
|
recently discovered... |
before
now |
|
Protected |
Kept
private |
|
Provide
explanations for |
Explain
why |
|
Provided/providing |
Given/giving |
|
Questionnaire |
Survey
form |
|
Ramifications |
Problems/results/outcomes |
|
Receive |
Get |
|
Regulations |
Rules |
|
Relevant |
Tied in
with |
|
Researchers/Scientists |
People
doing the study |
|
Schedule an appointment |
Set a
time |
|
Several |
Some/a
few/a number of |
|
Specimens |
Samples |
|
Sexual
behaviors |
Types
of sex |
|
Sexually transmitted diseases |
VD or
(STDs) |
|
Study
coordinator |
The
person who leads the
study |
|
Substantial |
Large/big |
|
Suggested |
Pointed
to |
|
Thank
you for volunteering to be in... |
Thank
you, we are glad that
you agreed to be in... |
|
The
information we collect |
What
you tell us |
|
To the
extent legally permissible |
To the
extent allowed by law |
|
Transmitted |
Passed
on to other people |
|
Understand |
Learn/see |
|
Your
understanding of ... |
What
you know about... |
-
Developed by
Harold C. McGraw, Office of Educational Research, Baltimore
County Schools, Towson, MD.
-
Doak, Cecilia C., Leonard G. Doak, and Jane H.
Root (1995). Teaching
Patients with Low Literacy Skills. New York:
J.B. Lippincott Co. 36-59.
-
Ibid: page 59 cites a 1979-81 test of the method
conducted by Patient Learning Associates, Inc., of Potomac,
Maryland, in which the SMOG formula performed exceptionally when
used to grade materials presented to 291 individuals graded by
accepted methods as having reading levels between the 4th and
16th grades.
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