A readability index is an best guese or estimation of how diffcault a text is to read and understand. This is made by measuring a text's complexity using a formular . Measurable attributes of texts such as word lengths, sentence lengths, syllable counts, and so on give us ways to measure the complexity of a text. Text complexity is then compared to how well readers comprehend the text. From this data, a formula is created which predicts a text's reading difficulty from its complexity.

http://www.analyzemywriting.com/readability_indices.html (17/12/19)

What is SMOG? 

The SMOG grade is a measure of readability that estimates the years of education needed to understand a piece of writing. SMOG is an acronym for Simple Measure of Gobbledygook.

https://www.readabilityformulas.com/smog-readability-formula.php(17/12/19)

 

What is FOG? 

Not all complex words are difficult. For example, "interesting" is not generally thought to be a difficult word, although it has four syllables. A short word can be difficult if it is not used very often by most people. The frequency with which words are in normal use affects the readability of text.

https://www.readabilityformulas.com/gunning-fog-readability-formula.php(17/12/19)

The scores for "Green Eggs and Ham":

 | Index | Value
 | Gunning fog | 3.24
| Flesch-Kincaid | -1.03
| SMOG | 5.29
| Coleman-Liau | -0.4
| Automated | -2.04

 

 | Average Grade Level: | 1.01
 | Median Grade Level: | -0.4

http://www.analyzemywriting.com/readability_indices.html (17/12/19)
Carefull concideration of the ability of the complecity of text has to be considered in the lifelong learning secotor. 

In a FE environment we are teaching student of all ages and ability. We should be awere that the way we structure text in the form of powerpoint or handoutys that are given to students reflect there ability. 

By using these folmular or online tools that can caculate the indext automatically, we can insure that students have the correct tools and differentiated between students. (interactive communication model)  

It is a readability framework which can be used to analyse how readable text is. It assesses how many years of education the average person needs to have to understand a piece.

It is most accurate for texts which are comprised of 30 sentences or more, as this was the length of text sampled in the creation of the formula.

What is a Gunning Fog Index readability score?

The Gunning Fog index was developed by Robert Gunning Associates, a consultancy set up by Robert Gunning in 1944. The aim of which was to help businesses to improve their writing.

The Gunning Fog formula generates a grade level, typically between 0 and 20. The formula estimates the years of formal education the reader requires to understand the text on first reading.

References:
https://readable.com/blog/how-did-the-smog-index-become-a-crucial-readability-formula-for-content-writers/ (17/12/2019 @ 15:40)

https://readable.com/blog/the-gunning-fog-index/ (17/12/2019 @ 15:40)

How can we apply 'readability' to benefit the learner?

Within the further education there are many uses for readability.  Teachers have a huge responsibility for educating both effectively and responsibly. The resources we use, especially within English language, must be graded to the correct level. Offering student resources that have not been gauged beforehand could lead to multiple barriers within learning. 

Using readability and its associated algorithms we can predetermine whether or not certain texts are suitable to certain qualifications.

Fareham College enrols many different types of learner. It is essential that all needs are met to allow that learner to achieve.

Every index does this a little bit differently and emphasizes particular aspects of text complexity. Some emphasize syllable counts while others look only at word and sentence lengths. This is why there are more than a few readability indices available to us. However, the core idea of each is the same; readability is essentially a measure of text complexity. 
(http://www.analyzemywriting.com/readability_indices.html)


Automated Readability Index (ARI)

Automated Readability Index (ARI) is a readability test that works well with English and Western European languages. The test uses long words and long sentences to calculate a readability score. The score gives an indication of how difficult the page is to read. Each score can be matched to an equivalent reading ability level. ARI uses a scale based on age in full-time education.  The formula for calculating the Automated Readability Index (ARI) is the following:

Characters: Number of letters and numbers

Words: Number of spaces

Sentences: Number of sentences

A good standard to aim for is around 7th-8th grade in the US grade level system (12-14 years), which equates to a score of 9 or less. If you do not have a specific policy for reading age on your site, try and focus on the pages that return a score of 11 and higher (10th grade +).

https://support.siteimprove.com/hc/en-gb/articles/114094009592-Readability-tests

Further Education based: We need to target our learners and understanding they come from varying backgrounds. We need to pitch any written communication to attract everyone into the material and engage their learning. At the same time we need to continue to challenge learners to push their learning. As teachers we need to adapt our learning and understand how learners are developing, as we understand them more we can learn when and how to push them to develop their knowledge more. If we avoid social barriers to increase the impact of our communication, our learners will get the full benefit of our lessons.
SMOG
G Harry McLaughlin created the SMOG Readability Formula in 1969 through an article, SMOG Grading – A New Readability Formula in the Journal of Reading. SMOG Readability Formula estimates the years of education a person needs to understand a piece of writing. McLaughlin created this formula as an improvement over other readability formulas. You may come across SMOG as an acronym for Simple Measure of Gobbledygook, but it’s widely believed the title is a nod to Robert Gunning’s FOG Index.
https://www.readabilityformulas.com/smog-readability-formula.php
FOG
The Gunning Fog Index Readability Formula, or simply called FOG Index, is attributed to American textbook publisher, Robert Gunning, who was a graduate from Ohio State University. Gunning observed that most high school graduates were unable to read. Much of this reading problem was a writing problem. His opinion was that newspapers and business documents were full of “fog” and unnecessary complexity. 
https://www.readabilityformulas.com/gunning-fog-readability-formula.php

To engage learners we need to keep all lessons and class notes clear and precise to avoid overcomplicating the issue. Learners are able to solely focus on gaining knowledge and not on understanding abbreviations or technical jargon. If we contstantly include works that are too complicated for our learners they will not meet their potential and if they struggle they could become distruptive. We need to judge all resources and learning material to ensure only the best and most relevant are linked to our lessons.

The formula for calculating the automated readability index is given below:

{\displaystyle 4.71\left({\frac {\mbox{characters}}{\mbox{words}}}\right)+0.5\left({\frac {\mbox{words}}{\mbox{sentences}}}\right)-21.43}

where characters is the number of letters and numbers, words is the number of spaces, and sentences is the number of sentences, which were counted manually by the typist when the above formula was developed. Non-integer scores are always rounded up to the nearest whole number, so a score of 10.1 or 10.6 would be converted to 11.

As a rough guide, US grade level 1 corresponds to ages 6–8. Reading level grade 8 corresponds to the typical reading level of a 14-year-old US child. Grade 12, the highest US secondary-school grade before college, corresponds to the reading level of a 17-year-old.

Unlike the other indices, the ARI, along with the Coleman–Liau, relies on a factor of characters per word, instead of the usual syllables per word. Although opinion varies on its accuracy as compared to the syllables/word and complex words indices, characters/word is often faster to calculate, as the number of characters is more readily and accurately counted by computer programs than syllables. In fact, this index was designed for real-time monitoring of readability on electric typewriters.^[1]

Score | Age | Grade Level
1 | 5-6 | Kindergarten
2 | 6-7 | First/Second Grade
3 | 7-9 | Third Grade
4 | 9-10 | Fourth Grade
5 | 10-11 | Fifth Grade
6 | 11-12 | Sixth Grade
7 | 12-13 | Seventh Grade
8 | 13-14 | Eighth Grade
9 | 14-15 | Ninth Grade
10 | 15-16 | Tenth Grade
11 | 16-17 | Eleventh Grade
12 | 17-18 | Twelfth grade
13 | 18-24 | College student
14 | 24+ | Professor

This index is commonly used by the healthcare sectors such NHS to ensure that its health messages are clear and easily understood.

As an educator, I would use this readability index to make sure reading materials/instructions  given match the educational level of learners.

The is nothing worse than "losing" readers (learners) to complex or unclear messages, as it frustrates them and would them to give up.

Research sources:
https://www.webfx.com/tools/read-able/smog-index.html

https://readable.com/blog/how-did-the-smog-index-become-a-crucial-readability-formula-for-content-writers/