UsingEye‐TrackingMeasures to Predict Reading Comprehension

Abstract

This study examined the potential of eye-tracking as a tool for assessing reading comprehension. We administered three widely-used reading comprehension tests with varying task demands to 79 typical adult readers while monitoring their eye movements. In the York Assessment of Reading for Comprehension (YARC), participants were given passages of text to read silently, followed by comprehension questions. In the Gray Oral Reading Test (GORT-5), participants were given passages of text to read aloud, followed by comprehension questions. In the sentence comprehension subtest of the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT-4), participants were asked to provide a missing word in sentences that they read silently (i.e., a cloze task). Linear models predicting comprehension scores from eye-tracking measures yielded different results for the three tests. Eye-tracking measures explained significantly more variance than reading-speed data for the YARC (four times better), GORT (three times better), and the WRAT (1.3 time better). Importantly, there was no common strong predictor for all three tests. These results support growing recognition that reading comprehension tests do not measure the same cognitive processes, and that participants adapt their reading strategies to the tests' varying task demands. This study also suggests that eye-tracking may provide a useful alternative for measuring reading comprehension.

Using college readers' eye movements to discuss textbook reading strategies

“…Analysis of readers' eye movements provides reading researchers with both a fine-grained, millisecond-bymillisecond level and a holistic, text-level view of reading processes (Mézière et al, 2023;Paulson, 2019). Information gained from the analysis of readers' eye movements has impacted reading theory for over a century (e.g., Huey, 1908Huey, /1968Jian, 2016;Rayner, 2009).…”

Evaluating computer science students reading comprehension of educational multimedia-enhanced text using scalable eye-tracking methodology

“…Eye-tracking (ET) has been explored as a less invasive and potentially more accurate method for assessing cognitive processes during reading compared to traditional methods like verbalizing thoughts (Pattemore & Gilabert, 2023;Sidhawara et al, 2023). Studies have shown that eye-tracking can provide valuable insights into how individuals engage with multimedia learning materials, revealing gender-based disparities in information processing preferences (Mézière et al, 2023). Additionally, research has demonstrated the effectiveness of eye-tracking in analyzing attention patterns of young individuals towards environmental advertising and journalistic texts, highlighting the cognitive effects of different media formats (Lobodenko et al, 2023;Saini et al, 2022).…”