The new formula correlated r = 9.2 with the Flesch Reading Ease formula, 9.4 with the original Dale-Chall formula with, and r = .87 with the graded text passages with. It is accurate from the 5th to the 12th grade.

They cross-validated the formula with a second study using another sample of 365 Army recruits at Ford Ord using another sample of reading passages scaled from grade 7 to grade 12.7 using the FORCAST formula. The results of this experiment correlated r = .98 with the Flesch formula, .98 with Dale-Chall, and .77 with the graded military passages. These figures were judged appropriate for the purpose of the formula.

Using the FORCAST formula, they tested the critical job-reading materials for readability. The results show the percentage of materials in each occupation written at the 9.9 grade level: Medical specialist, 24.4%; Light Weapons Infantryman, 18.3%; Military Policeman, 15.1%; General Vehicle Repairman, 13.4%; Amorer/Unit Supply Specialist, 10.8%; Ground Control Radar Repairman, 4.2%, and Personnel Specialist, 2.2%.

The study showed that materials for the different occupations all had texts above the 9th grade. This suggested the need for new quality-control measures for making materials more useful for the majority of personnel.

In a follow-up study, Lydia Hooke and colleagues (1979) validated of the use of the FORCAST formula on technical regulations for the Air Force. They also found that four of seven writers of the regulations underestimated the grade level of their materials by more than one grade.

In the main portion of the Hooke study, they administered cloze and reading tests to 900 AF personnel to determine the comprehension of each regulation by the user audience. Where there was no literacy gap (difficulty too high for the reader), they found that comprehension was adequate (at least 40% cloze score) in all cases. Where a literacy gap did exist, comprehension scores were below the criterion of 40% in three of four cases.

FORCAST formula is very unusual in that it does not use a sentence-length measurement. This makes it a favorite, however, for use with short statements and the text in Web sites, applications, and forms. The Department of the Air Force (1977) authorized the use of this formula in an instruction for writing understandable publications.

The following are two of the scaled passages taken from training materials and used in the occupational specialty study for the development and validation of the FORCAST formula. Also shown are: 1. The scaled Reading Grade Level (RGL), the mean reading grade level of the subjects who scored 35% correct scores on the cloze tests; and 2. The scores of the FORCAST, the Flesch, and the original Dale-Chall readability grade levels.

Passage 21

If you do not have a compass, you can find direction by other methods.

The North Star. North of the equator, the North Star shows you true north. To find the North Star-

Look for the Big Dipper. The two stars at the end of the bowl are called the "pointers." In a straight line out from the pointers is the North Star (at about five times the distance between the pointers). The Big Dipper rotates slowly around the North Star and does not always appear in the same position.

You can also use the constellation Cassiopeia. This group of five bright stars is shaped like a lopsided M (or W, when it is low in the sky). The North Star is straight out from the center star about the same distance as from the Big Dipper. Cassiopeia also rotates slowly around the North Star and is always almost opposite the Big Dipper.

Scaled RGL = 6. FORCAST = 8.6. Flesch = 7. Dale-Chall =7-8.