The Readability Level of the 11th Grade Geography Textbook and Students’ Reading Ability Scores Based on Gender and School Type

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the readability level of 11th grade geography textbook based on students’ gender and school type. The Gunning FOG, Flesch and Cloze test indexes were used to examine the difficulty level of the book. The findings of the study revealed that the book is appropriate for an undergraduate course, but it is difficult for 11th grade students. The readability scores of lessons showed that the content of the book is not organized from simple to difficult. The mean score of the 11th grade students was 34% in the cloze test. As a result, the content causes stress and frustration for learners due to its difficulty. The results showed that female students had a higher mean score of reading ability than male students, but this difference was not statistically significant. Also, students’ reading score in special public schools was significantly higher than that in conventional public schools. In addition, there was a significant positive correlation between students' reading ability score and geography lesson score.