About Reading Levels in Bridges Products

All Bridges products are checked for reading levels. For consistency, we use a standard Flesch-Kincaid reading level evaluation tool found in Microsoft Word. In general, shorter words and shorter sentences result in lower grade reading level scores. Check out "Readability" under Microsoft Word Help to see how these scores are calculated.

Content written for students in Choices Explorer is aimed at a reading level of 6th to 9th grade. In Choices CD and Choices Planner, the goal is 8th to 11th grade. Occupational names and the names of people working in them are just two of the reasons these goals are sometimes exceeded. Other Bridges products are designed for lower reading requirements.

Frequently, the tested reading level of a student won't predict his or her ability to comprehend material shown to be at the same, or even lower, grade level. The degree of familiarity with the subject matter can influence comprehension. Also, comprehension is affected by the abstract concepts presented even in short words -- for instance: "value" and "ability."