This study presents a portrait of the self-regulated learning-by-reading strategies of 20,545 secondary level students (aged 12 to 17) from 59 Francophone schools in low socio-economic areas in Quebec. The authors applied an evaluation questionnaire, “Lire pour apprendre” (Cartier et Butler, 2003). Results show that students understand the complexity of a situation based on their interpretation, their objectives and their performance criteria. The learning aspect in the situation is less targeted. However, students present self-regulated learning strategies that are inadequate. Differences in self-regulation by students at the beginning and at the end of the secondary level were found.