A Guide to Mastering Readability: The Flesch Reading Ease Score

Have you ever struggled to understand a piece of written content? Perhaps you found yourself reading and rereading a passage, trying to make sense of it. This is a common problem, and it’s one that writers must work hard to avoid.

Fortunately, a tool can help with this: the Flesch Reading Ease test. This test assigns a numerical score that measures the readability of your text.

This essay will explore the value of the Flesch Reading Ease test and how it can help you communicate more effectively.

What is the Flesch Reading Ease Test?

The Flesch Reading Ease test assesses text readability based on two main parameters: Sentence Length and Syllables per Word.

A higher score signifies easier readability, while a lower score indicates a more challenging text.

A qualitative interpretation of Flesch Reading Ease Test Scores is as follows:

90–100: Very easy (easily understood by an average 11-year-old student)

80–89: Easy (easily understood by 13- to 15-year-old students)

70–79: Fairly easy (easily understood by 16- to 17-year-old students)

60–69: Standard (easily understood by 18- to 19-year-old students)

50–59: Fairly difficult (easily understood by college graduates)