Efficacy of Text Lookback Training for Poor Comprehenders at Two Age Levels

Abstract

Twenty-four high school juniors and an equal number of middle school students were randomly assigned to either training or control groups in two settings. Students who were trained received instruction over three days on the use of text lookbacks to answer questions. After one week, trained and control subjects were tested for use of lookbacks and for question-answering accuracy. Only the younger trained students’ performance was significantly superior to that of control-group peers. Possible explanations for differential efficacy of training are discussed.