Correct Response: B. Research has shown that independent reading of a wide range of literary and informational texts plays a key role in students' academic language development, as the language of books tends to be more sophisticated than that of everyday social language. The student in this scenario likely has adequate foundational reading skills, given the student's prior reading proficiency. However, the student's independent reading is limited to fiction and graphic novels written well below grade-level expectations, thus limiting the student's exposure to grade- level academic language. Explicit instruction focused on developing the student's command of grade-level academic language structures would support the student's continued progress in comprehending grade-level academic texts. Options A, C, and D are incorrect because the student had been a fluent, proficient reader in previous years and continues to read below-grade- level texts with pleasure. Thus, foundational reading skills are not likely causing the student's increasingly inconsistent reading comprehension of assigned academic texts.
