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The ability to read and comprehend texts is an essential component of successful functioning in our world. A substantial amount of information comes to us through written means, whether it is through regular print, Internet, or other media. Part of this information is for our enjoyment, part of it is vital for our basic functioning--application forms and tax forms that need to be read and filled out, instructions for operating a new car, prescription instructions, food labels, and so forth. The importance of reading is reflected in school settings, both as a primary means of conveying knowledge and as main target of instruction. Accordingly, the assessment of children's (and adults') ability to read and comprehend texts receives considerable attention, in both school and research settings. In this article, we describe the complex nature of reading comprehension, review recent insights from cognitive-psychological research into this complexity, and draw implications from this research for assessment. Our purpose is to provide a theoretical foundation for the development of new and the adaptation of existing tools for assessing reading comprehension. In addition, we wish to illustrate more generally how advances in theories about psychological constructs (in this case, reading comprehension) can contribute to the development of assessment tools. The Integrated Model of Reading Comprehension (IMRED): Combining Key Elements of Theoretical Models of Reading Comprehension Reading and comprehending written language is a complex and uniquely human activity. Extensive psychological research over the past 2 decades has resulted in detailed and comprehensive theoretical models of reading comprehension that allow us to understand what reading comprehension is and how individuals differ in their reading comprehension abilities. Although these models differ in their details, they agree to a considerable degree on the main components (e.g., Sabatini, Albro van den Broek, Bohn-Gettler, Kendeou, Carlson, Cain van den Broek, White, Kendeou, to make these inferences the reader activates relevant background knowledge. Together, the elements from the text, the elements activated from background knowledge, and the interconnections between these elements form a semantic network that represents the reader's comprehension of the text (Graesser Kintsch Trabasso & van den Broek, 1985). …
Broek et al. (Sat,) studied this question.