Effects of passage difficulty and reading level on able and less able readers' oral and silent reading comprehension.

Abstract

The study investigated the effects of passage difficulty on the comprehension of 38 able and less able readers after oral and silent reading. The investigation also included a group of 15 third grade readers matched for reading level with the less able fifth grade group. In addition, children's perceptions of their own comprehension in both modes under various task conditions including difficulty level were investigated by means of a questionnaire. These perceptions were compared with actual performance differences by mode and level of difficulty. Prior to the experimental study, a pilot study was conducted for the purpose of selecting passages and questions to be used in the investigation. Three unfamiliar, expository passages of approximately 250 words in length at six level of difficulty were selected based upon word recognition and comprehension criteria. The first step of the experimental procedures was to determine an easy and a difficult passage level for each subject. In order to determine the difficulty levels, a set of successively more difficult passages which had been randomized at each level were read orally by each child. An easy and a difficult level was then determined for each subject based upon word recognition and comprehension criteria. A questionnaire was also administered to determine children's perceptions of their comprehension under oral and silent conditions. A 2 x 2 x 3 repeated measures Analysis of Variance was conducted for mode of reading (oral, silent), passage difficulty, (easy, difficult) and group (third grade, fifth grade able, fifth grade less able), with group being the between-subjects factor, and with difficulty levels and mode representing the within-subjects factors. There were no significant main effects or interactions among any of these factors. The questionnaire was analyzed using 2 x 2 contingency tables to compare responses within and among groups, and to compare stated preference with performance under difficult and easy conditions. For the difficult passages, children who had a preference also performed better in the preferred condition. These results indicate that children are aware of individual modality strengths, suggesting that this factor should be considered in instructional planning.