New Dale-Chall Score
The New Dale-Chall formula is a readability metric used to indicate how difficult a text is to read based on a predefined set of "common" words and the ratio of "difficult" words and words per sentence. Since the formula relies on a predefined set of words, the metric is only available for English and returns 0 for all other languages. Values correspond to the US grade level a reader requires in order to understand a text and should be interpreted as follows:
| Value | School level | Student age range | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.9 or lower | Pre-kindergarten - 4th grade | 3-10 | Very easy to read. |
| 5.0 - 5.9 | 4th grade - 6th grade | 10-12 | Easy to read. Conversational English for consumers. |
| 6.0 - 6.9 | 6th grade - 9th grade | 12-14 | Fairly easy to read. |
| 7.0 - 7.9 | 9th grade - 10th grade | 14-16 | Standard, plain English. Easily understood by 14- to 16-year-old students |
| 8.0 - 8.9 | 10th grade - 12th grade | 16-18 | Fairly difficult to read. |
| 9.0 - 9.9 | 12th grade - college graduate | 18-22 | Difficult to read. |
| 10 and above | University graduates | 22 and above | Very difficult to read. Best understood by university graduates. |
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Note |
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Originally, all the metrics were created for the English language and the education system of the United States. In ClickHelp, the metrics are available for all languages. Because of this, school levels and age ranges may be off for other languages. But the relative values will still be correct, so you can compare the readability of two different topics that use the same language. For example, if your topic got 100 according to Flesch Reading Ease, and another topic got 80, it means that the text of the second topic is more difficult to read, than the text of the first one. If the value of a readability metric is zero for your topic, check the selected language for your project to make sure it matches the language of the actual text. Also, make sure the punctuation is correct and all sentences end with a dot. |
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