30% of elementary non-proficient readers showed evidence of underdeveloped visual skills while reading low level content.
Research Summary
| Grades: | 4 and 5 |
| Participants: | n = 60 |
| Measure: | Visagraph Eye Movement Recording System |
| Publication: | Thirty-third Annual Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, Rotterdam, Netherlands (2026) |
| Authors: | Alexandra Spichtig, Ph.D.; John Ferrara, M.Ed; Nancy Brower, J.D. |
The study examined whether upper elementary students (Grades 4 and 5) present signs of underdeveloped visual skills when the text difficulty and cognitive load reduced. Students were categorized into high and low reading performance based on their total reading score from the Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation (GRADE). All students, however, had vocabulary equivalents of Grade 3 or higher indicating a capability to read grade-level 1 text without difficulty. Students in the low-performing reading group (n=30) were matched with students with high reading performance (n=30) from the same school, grade, and gender. Reading eye movement recordings (n=194) were evaluated for evidence of underdeveloped visual skills by STF researchers who were blinded to students’ reading-group assignments. Students demonstrated adequate comprehension (>=70%) on all passages evaluated.
When reading grade-level 4 texts, 67% of low-performing readers demonstrated evidence of underdeveloped visual skills, compared with only 10% of high-performing readers. These results are statistically consistent with a previous STF study of a similar design. When cognitive load was reduced and students read passages at text level 1, 30% of low-performing readers still showed evidence of underdeveloped visual skills, compared to only 3% of high-performing readers.
These findings demonstrate that even when cognitive load is reduced, low-performing readers still show visual skills deficits such as loss of binocular coordination, fixation instability, and/or vergence difficulties. The findings suggest the need for early identification of underdeveloped visual skills to better inform instructional approaches. For some students, visual skills practice and development may be needed before traditional intervention approaches can be fully effective.
Results showed that 38% of low-performing readers demonstrated evidence of underdeveloped visual skills, compared with only 4% of high-performing readers. When the results were examined by grade level, a clear pattern emerged. Over half of low-performing elementary readers (54% in Grade 2, 52% in Grade 4) had evidence of underdeveloped visual skills compared to one-quarter of low-performing middle school readers (27% in Grade 6, 24% in Grade 8). In contrast, evidence of underdeveloped visual skills was uncommon among high-performing readers across all grade levels, ranging from 2% to 6%.
These findings indicate a relationship between visual skills and reading performance. The results also suggest that visual skill development is an important consideration in supporting reading proficiency, and that differentiated instructional approaches that incorporate visual skill development are needed for elementary and middle school students.
