According to this scale, your document is <% if analysis.coleman_liau_index.round > 12 %> Understandable by a <%= (analysis.coleman_liau_index.round - 12).ordinalize %>-year college student. <% else %> Understandable by a <%= analysis.coleman_liau_index.round.ordinalize %>-grade reader. <% end %>

The Coleman–Laiu index is a readability test designed by linguists Meri Coleman and T. L. Liau to measure the understandability of text by approximating what U.S. grade level a reader must have achieved in order to fully comprehend what is being read. It was originally designed to assist the U.S. Office of Education calibrate the readability of textbooks used in the public school system.

The formula is very similar to the Flesch-Kincaid readability tests, but focuses primarily on the number of characters per word instead of syllables per word.

A higher score on this scale indicates a document is harder to understand.