What is the best interpretation of a student who answers comprehension questions related to a fifth-grade narrative passage with 95 percent accuracy but struggles with a fourth-grade expository passage?

The chosen interpretation highlights that the student demonstrates a strong grasp of narrative reading, achieving high accuracy in comprehension questions related to a fifth-grade narrative passage. This indicates that the student possesses a good understanding of storytelling elements such as plot, characters, and setting, which are often less reliant on academic language and more on general narrative understanding.

However, facing challenges with a fourth-grade expository passage suggests that the student might struggle with the structures and vocabulary typically found in academic texts. Expository writing often includes complex concepts, specific terminology, and a more formal style that may not align with the student’s reading experiences. This points to a gap in familiarity with academic language rather than a global reading disability or misclassification. Thus, the interpretation that the student is processing normally but lacks experience with academic language is fitting, as it considers the different challenges posed by narrative versus expository texts.