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Metacognition has become a popular term in theories of cognitive development and reading. What children know about the goals, tasks, and strategies of reading can influence how well they plan and monitor their own reading. Despite the appeal of metacognition and the emphasis on executive management of reading, there have been relatively few empirical studies that measure or promote children's metacognition about reading. This article briefly reviews some key studies of children's knowledge about reading and identifies some difficulties in defining and measuring metacognition. An Index of Reading Awareness (IRA) is offered as an informal assessment of metacognition derived from both theory and empirical data that can be used to measure children's understanding of reading comprehension processes. Data are presented illustrating that the instrument is sensitive to developmental and instructional differences in children's metacognition about reading. It is argued that the usefulness of the term metacognition depends on the development of both formal and informal tests of children's knowledge about reading and effective instruction that promotes metacognition.
Jacobs et al. (Mon,) studied this question.