Table 3.

Constructs measured and scoring protocols used for five assessment tools within an evaluation of the literacy demands of self-directed learning resources on emergency preparedness for U.S. families

Assessment Tool	Construct	Scoring	Reference
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level	Readability, or years of education needed (measured by grade-level) to understand a document based on sentence and word length.	Scores range from 0.0 to 12.0 representing school grade year. For example, a score of 9.3 signifies that the average person who completed the ninth grade would be able to read the material.	Kincaid et al. (1975)
Peter Mosenthal and Irwin Kirsch (PMOSE/iKIRSCH) Formula	Complexity, based on the structure, density, and dependency of information in print materials.	Scores range from 1.0 to 5.0 as a sum of the three criteria, and interpreted using a chart to determine complexity level (very low, low, moderate, high, very high); proficiency level (1, 2, 3, 4, or 5); and grade/schooling (range including grade 4 or equivalent to <8 years of schooling, grade 8 or equivalent to high school degree, grade 12 or equivalent to some education after high school, 15 years of schooling or equivalent to college degree, or 16 years of schooling or equivalent to post college degree).	Mosenthal and Kirsch (1981)
Suitability Assessment of Materials (SAM)	Suitability, or how understandable materials are based on how easy it is to comprehend information.	The tool rates factors as superior, adequate, or not suitable in six areas (content, literacy demand, graphics, layout and type, learning stimulation and motivation, and cultural appropriateness). Scores range from 0.0 to 100.0 and the total score is interpreted as superior (70-100%), adequate/below average (40-69%), or not suitable (0-39%).	Doak, Doak, and Root (1996)
National Library of Medicine / National Institute on Aging (NLM/NIA) Web Usability Guidelines	Web usability, or the text readability, information presentation, and ease-of-navigation of websites.	Scores range from 0.0 to 25.0, and generate a percentage for the total number of items fulfilled out of a checklist of 24 items. Items capture domains including typeface/weight, text spacing, use of color, simplicity, information presentation, organization, webpage ease-of-navigation, menus, and scrolling.	Hodes and Lindberg (2002)
Clear Communication Index (CCI)	Overall audience appropriateness in consideration of additional dimensions such as clarity and understandability, beyond the basic characteristics that simple readability formulas capture.	The score divides the points that the material earned by the total number possible to generate a score that can be interpreted in a binary fashion: excellent (90 or above) or needs work (89 or lower). Items capture domains including main message/call to action, information design, language, state of the science, behavioral recommendations, numbers, and risk.	Baur and Prue (2014)