On the assumption that the verbal complexity of written examination materials used to select personnel for a job should be similar to the verbal complexity of materials that must be read and understood on the job, the Flesch Reading Ease Index was applied to samples of the reading materials required for successful entry-level job performance in the Washington, D.C. Fire Department (DCFD). The use of the Flesch formula results in a single numerical index ranging from 0 to 100 that estimates the relative reading-ease level of written material. The higher the index, the easier the material it describes. A committee of three entry-level firefighters participated in the study, which analyzed only those materials actually necessary to their job performance. Results showed that the index for the required materials was 44, a level described as "difficult" and indicating a junior college educational level. (Five appendixes contain lists of the required written material for the entry-level firefighters, the sampling plan for the study, results of a DCFD study involving a simplified Flesch Reading Ease Index, the counting instructions packet for the Flesch formula, and the raw data compilation and computation sheet for the study.) (FL)