Simplification of Flesch Reading Ease Formula

Abstract

To simplify the Flesch reading ease formula, the number of one syllable words per 100 words were counted, as a substitute for counting the number of syllables per 100 words. 360 one-hundred word samples taken from 22 employee handbooks put out by various divisions of the General Motors Corporation were used in this study. The correlation between these two measures was found to be -.91. Based on this correlation, a new reading ease regression equation was derived and a table to facilitate computation of the new reading ease index was prepared and is presented in this article. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)