A Comparison of Written and Oral Responses in the Silent Reading Comprehension of Fourth Grade Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the written and oral responses in the silent reading comprehension of fourth grade students of high-, average- and low- reading ability levels. Thirty students, enrolled in grade four of a suburban school in Western New York State constituted the subjects of this study. The specific question to be answered was: Does a statistically significant correlation (r2 ? .50) exist between the written and oral responses to comprehension questions of fourth grade students of high-, average- and low-reading ability levels? Students silently read three reading passages and responded to a set of comprehension questions developed for each passage. Each set of questions was answered twice, once in writing and once orally. A total written score and a total oral score was obtained for each subject. Each written response score was compared to its corresponding oral response score using a Pearson Product - Moment Correlation. Results revealed that a statistically significant correlation did exist between the written responses and the oral responses to postquestions for fourth grade students.