An Expanded Review of the Research on Variability in Reading Comprehension

• Sociocultural factors help us understand differences among readers in the way they define comprehension, the nature of opportunities that readers have to learn to comprehend, and the texts and comprehension activities that they value. For example, learners from some social groups experience a lack of congruence between their own definitions of literacy and those they encounter at school, whereas those from other social groups find the school-based texts and literacy activities familiar.