The Thorndike-Lorge List (TLL) is an index of 2,700 English vocabulary words commonly used in everyday conversation. Developed in the 1940s by Edward L. Thorndike and Irving Lorge, the list is a standard tool used to measure the reading level of American adults and children.
The TLL is composed of English words and phrases, organized according to their level of difficulty. Each word is assigned an index number, with lower numbers indicating easier words and higher numbers indicating more difficult words. The list is divided into three categories: A, B, and C. Category A contains the easiest words, while Category C contains the most difficult words.
The TLL has been used in a variety of educational contexts. It has been used to measure the reading level of students, to assess the difficulty of textbooks, and to assess the comprehension levels of English language learners. It has also been used to measure the difficulty of various types of tests and to determine the readability of documents.
The TLL is a valuable tool for assessing the reading level of American adults and children. It is easy to use and provides reliable results. It is also widely used in educational contexts and has been found to be a reliable measure of reading and comprehension levels.
References
Thorndike, E. L., & Lorge, I. (1944). The Teacher’s Word Book of 30,000 Words. New York: Columbia University Press.
Kincaid, J. P., Fishburne, R. P., Rogers, R. L., & Chissom, B. S. (1975). Derivation of New Readability Formulas (Automated Readability Index, Fog Count, and Flesch Reading Ease Formula) for Navy Enlisted Personnel. Research Branch Report 8-75. Millington, TN: Naval Technical Training Command.
Kostelnik, M. J., Whiren, A. P., & Soderman, A. K. (2008). Working with Young Children (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Lorge, I., & Thorndike, E. L. (1944). The Teacher’s Word Book of 30,000 Words. New York: Columbia University Press.
Lund, D. K., & Robinson, P. (1971). The readability of textbooks used in the elementary schools. The Elementary School Journal, 71(6), 437–441.
McGraw, K. O., & Lorge, I. (1944). The inter-scorer reliability of ratings made from the Thorndike-Lorge word list. The Journal of Educational Psychology, 35(3), 202–208.