Editing Flesch–Kincaid readability tests (section)

==History==
"The Flesch–Kincaid" (F–K) reading grade level was developed under contract to the [[U.S. Navy]] in 1975 by J. Peter Kincaid and his team.<ref name="kincaidetal1975">{{cite report |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA006655.pdf |last1=Kincaid |first1=J.P. |last2=Fishburne|first2=R.P. |last3=Rogers |first3=R.L. |last4=Chissom |first4=B.S. |year=1975 |title=Derivation of new readability formulas (automated readability index, fog count, and flesch reading ease formula) for Navy enlisted personnel |id=Research Branch Report 8–75 |publisher=Chief of Naval Technical Training |location=Naval Air Station Memphis |access-date=15 October 2024 }}</ref> Related U.S. Navy research directed by Kincaid delved into high-tech education (for example, the electronic authoring and delivery of technical information),<ref name="Kincaid1988">{{cite journal |vauthors=Kincaid JP, Braby R, Mears J |year=1988 |title=Electronic authoring and delivery of technical information |journal=Journal of Instructional Development |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=8–13 |doi=10.1007/bf02904998|s2cid=62551107 }}</ref> usefulness of the Flesch–Kincaid readability formula,<ref name="McClure1987">{{cite journal |author=McClure G |title=Readability formulas: Useful or useless. (an interview with J. Peter Kincaid.) |year=1987 |journal=IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication |volume=30 |pages=12–15|doi=10.1109/TPC.1987.6449109 |s2cid=13157772 }}</ref> computer aids for editing tests,<ref name="Kincaid1983">{{cite journal |vauthors=Kincaid JP, Braby R, Wulfeck WH II |year=1983 |title=Computer aids for editing tests |journal=Educational Technology |volume=23 |pages=29–33}}</ref> illustrated formats to teach procedures,<ref name="Brabyetal1982">{{cite journal |vauthors=Braby R, Kincaid JP, Scott P, McDaniel W |year=1982 |title=Illustrated formats to teach procedures |journal=IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=61–66|doi=10.1109/TPC.1982.6447756 |s2cid=30615819 }}</ref> and the Computer Readability Editing System (CRES).<ref name="Kincaid1981">{{cite journal |vauthors=Kincaid JP, Aagard JA, O'Hara JW, Cottrell LK |year=1981 |title=Computer Readability Editing System |journal=IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=38–42|doi=10.1109/TPC.1981.6447821 |s2cid=39045053 |url=https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/957e73e1dd85b86ff096f0e050391b903b92dbe5 }} (also reported in Aviation Week and Space Technology, January 11, 1982, pp. 106–107.)</ref>

The F–K formula was first used by the [[United States Army|Army]] for assessing the difficulty of technical manuals in 1978 and soon after became a [[United States Military Standard]]. Pennsylvania was the first U.S. state to require that [[automobile insurance]] policies be written at no higher than a [[ninth grade|ninth-grade]] level (14–15 years of age) of reading difficulty, as measured by the F–K formula. This is now a common requirement in many other states and for other legal documents such as insurance policies.<ref name=McClure1987/>