Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level
Find the US school grade needed to understand a text.
About Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level
The Flesch-Kincaid grade level converts sentence and syllable patterns into a US school year, so a score of 8 roughly matches an eighth grader. Government and insurance writing often aims near grade 8 while marketing copy drops lower. Knowing the grade level helps match material to an audience's likely comfort, since most adults read several grades below the education they completed.
Formula
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level
Grade = 0.39 x (words/sentences) + 11.8 x (syllables/words) - 15.59
- grade level
- Years of schooling a reader typically needs
Worked example
With the default values below, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level returns Grade Level of 9.9. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Wordsminimum 1
- 150
- Sentencesminimum 1
- 10
- Syllablesminimum 1
- 250
Results
- Grade Level
- 9.9
- Grade Summary
- High school graduate
- Words per Sentence
- 15.0
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level
- 3Grade Level= 9.9
- 4Grade Summary= High school graduate
- 5Words per Sentence= 15.0
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 3 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 1 decimal place, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level calculated?
Grade = 0.39 x (words/sentences) + 11.8 x (syllables/words) - 15.59 The Flesch-Kincaid grade level converts sentence and syllable patterns into a US school year, so a score of 8 roughly matches an eighth grader. Government and insurance writing often aims near grade 8 while marketing copy drops lower.
Why does Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level matter?
Knowing the grade level helps match material to an audience's likely comfort, since most adults read several grades below the education they completed.
What values do I need to enter?
This calculator takes 3 inputs: Words, Sentences, Syllables. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.