Computerized readability levels

There is a national concern about and a need for clear, concise, easy-to-understand scientific and technical writing. During the past decade, there has been more technological information generated than in all the previous years of recorded history. While communication among peers may not be a serious problem, communication between specialists and lay persons, between government bureaucrats and citizens, between textbook writers and students, has become a problem of national concern. A recent report from the Ford Foundation, titled “Adult Illiteracy in the United States,” states that reading and writing problems are increasing in the U.S. and estimates that there are 18 to 64 million illiterate adults in the United States. In addition, in nine states more than half the adult population has not completed high school. Conventional literacy is the ability to read, write, and comprehend texts on familiar subjects and to understand signs, labels, instructions, and directions necessary to get along within one's environment.