[AAACE-NLA] Question about Flesch-Kincaid and Grade Levels

[Jenny Sandlin]

Hello,

I have a query from a friend who is a political scientist who is  
working on a project where he is examining the ability of  
presidential candidates to speak well and clearly to voters and the  
impact of communication, issue distance, and the interaction of the 2  
on vote choice. He has coded presidential debates based on a Flesch- 
Kincaid reading level (e.g., Al Gore speaks at a 9th grade level;  
Ronald Reagan speaks at a 12th grade level, Ross Perot speaks at a  
6th grade level).

He wants to match these "speaking grade levels" to actual education  
levels of voters (e.g., is a 9th grade reading level = the average  
H.S. graduate?  or is it a 11th grade level?).  He can't seem to find  
a recent article detailing this. All he has found is that a 12th  
grade reading level is the grade levels of reading/speaking that a HS  
grad is SUPPOSED to have, but not necessarily what the average  
American HS grad has.

I have been looking around but I can't find any good information to  
tell him. Do any of you have any leads or information or places I  
could tell him to look, detailing the connection between Flesch- 
Kincaid reading levels and actual education levels?  I really  
appreciate this!  Thanks in advance.

Jenny


Jennifer A. Sandlin
Assistant Professor
Department of Educational Administration and Human Resource Development
MS 4226
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX 77843-4226
979.458.0508 (work)
jsandlin at coe.tamu.edu


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