Readibility Profiling of The Life Today Senior High School English Textbook Based on Rudolf Flesch's Reading Ease Framework

Abstract

Readability is not just a measure of text difficulty, but it is a vital indicator of how effectively learning materials communicate with their intended audience. This research investigates the readability level of the reading texts in the Life Today textbook for twelfth-grade senior high school students using the Flesch Reading Ease Formula. The study aims to determine whether the texts in the textbook are appropriate for students’ reading abilities and align with the learning expectations of the Merdeka Curriculum. This study employed a descriptive qualitative method. Twelve reading texts from the textbook were selected and analyzed. The readability level of each text was calculated by determining the Average Sentence Length (ASL) and Average Syllables per Word (ASW), which were then processed using the Flesch Reading Ease formula. The readability scores range from 32.00 to 76.00, showing substantial variation in text difficulty. The results reveal that 3 texts (25%) are Fairly Easy (70–80), 3 texts (25%) are Standard (60–70), 5 texts (41.67%) are Fairly Difficult (50–60), and 1 text (8.33%) is categorized as Difficult (32.00). Most texts fall into the Fairly Difficult category, indicating general suitability for senior high school readers, although some texts are either too easy or too complex. These findings suggest a need for teacher guidance when presenting more difficult texts and highlight the importance of evaluating textbook readability to support effective learning.