Differences in text processing by low- and high-comprehending beginning readers of expository and narrative texts: Evidence from eye movements

Abstract The present study investigated on-line text processing of second-grade low- and high-comprehending readers by recording their eye movements as they read expository and narrative texts. For narrative texts, the reading patterns of low- and high-comprehending readers revealed robust differences consistent with prior findings for good versus struggling readers (e.g., longer first- and second-pass reading times for low-comprehending readers). For expository texts, however, the differences in the reading patterns of low- and high-comprehending readers were attenuated. These results suggest that low-comprehending readers adopt a suboptimal processing approach for expository texts: relative to their processing approach for narrative texts, they either do not adjust their reading strategy or they adjust towards a more cursory strategy. Both processing approaches are suboptimal because expository texts tend to demand more, rather than less, cognitive effort of the reader than narrative texts. We discuss implications for (reading) education.