Lumos Learning: Free Text Complexity Analyzer Review

Have you ever wondered how complex your writing is? If you’re dealing with things like a short dwell time on your website, or a high bounce rate, it’s entirely possible that you may need to check the readability of your text and improve it.

Given that we live in an always-on world and expect things on-demand, we often simply don’t have time to decipher complex text. 

This means that a little readability can go a long way toward improving things like bounce rate, dwell time, time on page, all while better aligning your content with user intent. 

Key Takeaways

Short on time? Here’s what you can expect to learn in this article: 

• What the Lumos Learning Text Complexity Analyzer is.
• How Lumos Learning measures readability scores.
• Alternatives to the Lumos Learning Text Complexity Analyzer.

What Is the Lumos Learning Text Complexity Analyzer?

Lumos Learning’s Text Complexity Analysis is an online tool that helps teachers and content creators alike determine the readability of their texts. 

The tool is particularly designed for educators in that it aims to align with state standards, part of which, involves connecting students to challenging texts with the aim of improving their reading skills. 

How Lumos Learning Measures Readability Scores

Lumos Learning Text Complexity Analyzer looks at text across a number of well-known and popular readability formulas, including: 

• Flesch Reading Ease: Scores readability on a range from 0-100. The higher the score, the easier the readability of the content.

• CEFR Level: Aligns text to the Common European Framework for Languages, ranging from A1 (beginner) to C2 (proficient) 

• IELTS Level: Aligns text according to the International English Language Testing System, which ranges from 1 (non-user of English) to 9 (expert user of English)

• Spache Score: For texts designed for younger readers, this score evaluates readability based on sentence length and familiarity with vocabulary. 

• New Dale-Chall Score: Measures readability by comparing the text to a list of familiar words to determine a suitable grade level needed to comprehend the text. 

• LIX Readability Score: Checks readability according to the percentage of long words and the sentence length. Estimates how difficult the text is to read and understand based on this information. 

• Linsear Write Score: Looks at sentence length and word complexity in text to determine an appropriate U.S. grade level needed in order to understand it.

Originality.ai’s Readability Checker also checks a number of these options such as Flesch Reading Ease, Spache, and Linsear. 

Offering multiple readability formulas gives users a solid and well-rounded idea of the readability of their content according to several different approaches.

Testing the Readability of This Article

The true readability test comes with measuring how readable this particular article is using the Lumos Learning Text Complexity Analyzer.

First, it provides a text analysis

Then, it specifies readability grade levels

After providing a basic breakdown of things like word length, sentence length, and syllables, the readability checker broke down the text into grade levels according to each formula: 

Most of the scores ranged between 11 to 13 in terms of grade level which would indicate at or beyond a high school graduate education level.

This is in keeping with the best grade level to aim for — grade 12 — as found in our Readability Study.

Alternatives to Lumos Learning Text Complexity Analyzer 

The Originality.ai Readability Checker is a fantastic alternative to the Lumos Learning Text Complexity Analyzer.

It’s easy to use, offers in-depth insights, colour-codes the score according to each readability formula’s difficulty, and includes highlights within the text editor to help you conveniently note any sections which require review.

We’ve included a sample of the text highlights from this article (from the section discussing readability scores) in the image below. 

Considering the complexity of the language when discussing readability scores and measures, these phrases were naturally flagged as more difficult to read.

Originality.ai’s readability checker stands out in comparison because it goes beyond providing scores and metrics. It also includes in-text highlights that make it a breeze to edit text for readability. 

If you’re looking for a comprehensive readability analysis, but you’d like more information about scores, accompanied by highlights to streamline editing, then try the Originality.ai Readability Checker. 

Final Thoughts

Overall, Lumos Learning offers a great readability checker or Text Complexity Analyzer tailored for the educational sector. 

However, the Originality.ai Readability Checker offers a more comprehensive alternative, with highlights and tips to help you streamline the editorial process.

Taking steps to improve readability across the board tells readers and search engines alike that your content is worth the read.

Looking for more info on readability? Check out our guides.

• Hemingway Editor Plus Review
• 7 Effective Ways to Use Lists to Improve Readability
• Writing for Readability is Important — Here's Why
• How to Write Paragraphs for Easy Readability