An Examination of Readability of Codes of Student Conduct in Pennsylvania K-12 Public Schools.

摘要

Public school districts distribute Code of Student Conduct materials as an efficient method of informing parents and students about their rights and responsibilities under relevant laws. The right to attend public school is guaranteed by state and federal law. Prior notice must be given and due process followed when the right to an education is at risk of being removed. The last national study of adult literacy was conducted in 2003, and indicated that 43% of Americans cannot read a lengthy document and derive meaning from in (U.S. Department of Education, 2003). A review of 30 years of prior studies of public school publications for parents of special education students recommended that materials be written at the 5th grade level but found that they were written at a 12.5 grade level (Nagro & Stein, 2016). This study examined the Code of Conduct from 30 randomly selected Pennsylvania school districts and the contrasting educational attainment levels of the local community. The Coleman Liau Readability Formula and Degrees of Reading Power readability formulas were used for Code of Conduct materials downloaded from public websites. The level of educational attainment was located through the U. S. Census Bureau public website. Three of the 30 school districts had Code of Conduct materials written below the 12th grade level. All communities had 79% or more adults with high school diplomas, but only four communities had 50% or more adults with college diplomas. The contrast between readability levels and educational attainment levels implies that parents are not informed of educational rights. Best practice would include checking materials for readability, using alternative methods for communicating with stakeholders, understanding the intended audience, and offering continual training for professionals on this topic.