title: Strategic Decisions in Task-Oriented Reading.
abstract: Answering questions from texts are assessment and instructional activities that are frequently used in schools. Nevertheless, little is known about the strategic processes that students take while performing these tasks. We explored the amount and frequency that students initially read of a text before they answered questions pertaining to the material. In a procedure similar to the one used in the PISA (Program for International Students Assessment), one-hundred-seventy students between 7th and 9th grade read and answered several questions designed to assess task-oriented reading in three specific texts. We recorded on-line indexes that evaluated student behavior (e.g., the amount of text that students read before answering questions raised within a given text), performance, and comprehension skill. The results revealed that students skilled in comprehension initially read a high proportion of the texts, which in turn improved their overall performance in two of the three texts read (text 1: CI95%: 0.01 to 0.09; text 2: CI95%: -0.01 to 0.05; text 3: CI95%: 0.04 to 0.20). Therefore, we conclude that this strategic behavior should be considered during the assessment and instruction of reading literacy.
authors.affiliation: Universidad de Valencia (Spain).
authors.forename: Ladislao
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Salmerón
authors.affiliation: Universidad de Valencia (Spain).
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vidal-Abarca
authors.affiliation: Universidad de Valencia (Spain).
authors.forename: Tomás
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.affiliation: Universidad de Valencia (Spain).
authors.forename: Amelia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mañá
authors.affiliation: Universidad de Valencia (Spain).
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gil
authors.affiliation: German Institute for International Educational Research (Germany).
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Naumann
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D032882:Comprehension / Q000502:physiology*; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011932:Reading; D012574:Schools; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: reading comprehension assessment; reading literacy; task-oriented reading