Automated Readability Index
The automated readability index (ARI) is a readability test for English texts, designed to gauge the understandability of a text. Like the Flesch–Kincaid grade level, Gunning fog index, SMOG index, Fry readability formula, and Coleman–Liau index, it produces an approximate representation of the US grade level needed to comprehend the text.
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.
Ranking
| 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 |
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.
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