Reading Comprehension Tests: Students’ Question Reading and Responding Behavior

ABSTRACT

Reading comprehension tests involve not only reading passages and answering questions but also making choices such as the test-taking strategy to use, whether to search passages for answers, and where to begin searching. We examined the associations between student characteristics, passage type, test-taking strategies, and students’ time searching texts for answers. We also examined differences in the characteristics of students with high precision in finding text that supported correct answer choices compared to students who lacked precision. Students in grades three (n = 76), five (n = 86), and eight (n = 86) read narrative and expository passages and responded to questions. We used eye-tracking videos to code test-taking strategies and question-reading and responding behaviors (QRRBs). Student characteristics of reading achievement and working memory were measured. Results indicated that test-taking strategies and QRRB impacted the effort and time required by students to complete the tests and the processes measured.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10627197.2024.2356200

Notes

¹ The project from which data were drawn for the current study was also used in two studies described above Ardoin et al. (2019, 2024). We also have a manuscript under review employing data drawn from this same project that examines the time participants spent reading in the question region and how that time varies as related to student characteristics and students’ response accuracy. It does not include analyses of QRRB precision data, whether students chose to reread text, time spent rereading, or time spent rereading question-relevant text.

² For additional details related to passage selection, please contact the first author. Metrics associated with coded passages can be found at: https://tinyurl.com/dknwan64. Passages used in this study are referenced as EXPO-RC Study 1.

Additional information

Funding

The research reported here was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant [R305A17036] to the University of Georgia. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education.