Proficient and Less Proficient Comprehenders' Strategy use for Different Top-Level Structures

This study examined proficient and less proficient high school comprehenders' use of strategies as they read three passages with different top-level structures: collection, causation, and comparison. Subjects were 24 tenth and eleventh graders who were divided into proficient and less proficient comprehenders based on results of standardized comprehension tests: proficient comprehenders scored above the 70th percentile; less proficient comprehenders below the 50th percentile. Content area passages were used with the proficient comprehenders and were revised for the less proficient comprehenders so that the passages would be the same relative difficulty for both groups. Results indicate that both groups of readers used similar strategies: rereading, previous knowledge, inference, reading subsequent text, utilizing author's structure, relating to the main idea, and focusing on key vocabulary. Use of inferences was more valuable than other strategies on the collection passage, and use of author's structure was more valuable on the causation passage than on the other passages for the proficient comprehenders. Proficient comprehenders differed from less proficient comprehenders in their greater use of previous knowledge on the collection passage and their greater use of vocabulary strategies on the causation and comparison passages. Implications for instruction are addressed.