Reading comprehension is the ultimate goal for reading. It is driven by two broad skill sets that are identified in the Simple View of Reading.
What is the Simple View of Reading?
It is a theoretical model proposed by researchers Gough and Tunmer in 1986. The model shows that reading comprehension is a product of two interdependent processes - word recognition (decoding) and language comprehension. Children must be strong in both decoding and language comprehension in order for reading comprehension to occur.
Word recognition or decoding is the ability to quickly and accurately sound out words based on phonics rules.
Language comprehension is the ability to derive meaning or make sense of spoken words.
Reading comprehension is the ability to derive meaning or make sense of words in print.
Considering the two processes in the simple view of reading, there are in fact four possible reading profiles. (Note that and for each of these profiles, individual students’ difficulties may range from mild to severe.
A skilled reader is proficient at both decoding and language comprehension.
All reading difficulties can fall into three basic types:
Poor at Decoding - has adequate language comprehension and weak decoding skills. A deficit in decoding is related to the student’s ability to read printed words accurately and rapidly. The extreme example of this profile is a dyslexic student (a student with language comprehension abilities that are at least average and severe decoding difficulties).
Poor at Language Comprehension - has adequate decoding skills and weak language comprehension skills. Any deficit in language comprehension is not specific to reading, but related to a knowledge domain or to higher order thinking skills such as reasoning, imagining or interpreting. he extreme example of this profile is a hyperlexic student (a student with severe language comprehension issues and excellent decoding skills).
Poor at Language Comprehension and Decoding - has weaknesses in both areas.
Based on the Simple View of Reading, effective and efficient intervention targets the student’s specific weakness, whether it is decoding or language comprehension. Teaching to the student’s strength will not raise reading comprehension scores meaningfully, no matter how intensive the instruction is.