6 Myths About Improving Reading Comprehension

What Is Reading Comprehension?

Reading comprehension is recognized as one of the five pillars of literacy within the Science of Reading, along with foundational skills such as phonological awareness, phonics, and fluency.

In comparison to these foundational skills, however, reading comprehension is a more complex task that often requires a more nuanced approach, incorporating deeper levels of critical thinking and engagement with the text.

Reading comprehension is the ultimate goal of learning to read. Students are taught and develop reading skills so they can understand the texts they read and apply what they’ve learned in those texts to their lives. Yet misconceptions about how students comprehend texts as well as how to teach reading comprehension in literacy instruction can impede effective teaching practices.

Clearing Up Reading Comprehension Misconceptions

In this blog, we will clarify these prevalent misconceptions, such as the differences between comprehension skills and strategies, the complexity of comprehension as it relates to other literacy pillars, and the varied levels of comprehension that can exist across different texts.

By addressing these misunderstandings, we aim to empower educators with the knowledge needed to improve reading comprehension instruction in their classrooms.

Misconception 1: Comprehension Skills Are the Same as Comprehension Strategies

Comprehension skills and comprehension strategies are both terms used to describe the abilities and methods students develop and use in their heads while reading to help them comprehend text.

One very common misconception is that comprehension skills are the same as comprehension strategies and that the terms can be used interchangeably. In fact, they are different and they each serve different purposes and impact reading comprehension in different ways.

What Are Comprehension Skills?

Comprehension skills refer to the ability of students to answer specific types of questions with automaticity, for example: finding the main idea, comparing and contrasting ideas, sequencing events, etc.

What Are Comprehension Strategies?

Comprehension strategies, on the other hand, are cognitive methods to help students think through challenging texts. For example, making inferences, predicting, comprehension monitoring, questioning, summarizing, and visualization.

Still confused? Think of comprehension skills and strategies like driving a car.

Skills are the basic tasks you need to drive, such as steering, using the gas and brake pedals, or activating your turn signals. Over time, these tasks become automatic, and you don't have to think about them much as you drive — they're just second nature.

Strategies, on the other hand, are like navigating a challenging or unfamiliar route. When you're driving through an area you're not used to, you need to pay closer attention to road signs, reroute if necessary, or adjust your speed based on traffic. These strategies require active thinking and decision-making as you adapt to the changing conditions.

In reading, comprehension skills — like summarizing or finding the main idea — should become automatic over time, just like basic driving skills. But when students face a difficult text, they need to rely on strategies — like making inferences or slowing down to reread — to navigate through it.

Just as a good driver can use both skills and strategies to get to their destination, a strong reader knows when to rely on fluent skills and when to use strategies to deepen their understanding of the text.

Misconception 2: Reading Comprehension Is the Same as the Other Four Pillars of Reading

Often it is assumed that reading comprehension is the same as the other four pillars of reading — phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, and vocabulary — because of how all these elements are often shown together in infographics. The five pillars are depicted equally making it seem like they’re equally complex.

However, comprehension is far more complicated.

Reading Comprehension Is a Complex Process

While phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, and vocabulary primarily deal with the mechanics of reading (like decoding words with automaticity), reading comprehension involves not only a strong grasp of the other pillars but also active engagement with the text to understand, interpret, and analyze it. Comprehension can be more complex to acquire because it involves higher-level thinking, drawing inferences, and connecting what’s read to prior knowledge.

Reading comprehension, therefore, can be more challenging to teach effectively for similar reasons.

Why Is Teaching Reading Comprehension So Complex?

Teaching reading comprehension presents unique challenges for educators. Unlike foundational skills like phonics or fluency, which can be taught through direct, explicit instruction and repetitive practice, comprehension requires a deeper level of engagement and critical thinking.

Teachers must model and guide students through multifaceted cognitive processes, such as making connections to background knowledge and analyzing, inferring, and synthesizing information from texts. Adding to the complexity of reading comprehension instruction is the fact that students enter the classroom with different levels of background knowledge.

Furthermore, fostering a classroom environment that encourages discussion, questioning, and exploration of ideas is crucial for developing comprehension skills, making the teaching process dynamic and sometimes unpredictable.

Misconception 3: Readers Have One Level of Comprehension Across All Types of Texts

It is a misconception to believe that students have the same level of reading comprehension across all types of texts, no matter the genre or content.

In reality, a student’s reading comprehension level can change from one text to another, or across genres.

For example, while reading a narrative text a student might exhibit strong reading comprehension because they really understand the plot, or have background knowledge that supports the story, but then struggle to understand a different informational passage.

How Can Genre and Text Structure Impact Reading Comprehension?

Each genre has its own characteristics that can impact reading comprehension. Literary fiction might require students to understand character traits or motivations, as well as concepts like problem and solution, while nonfiction might have more complex text features or more difficult vocabulary words. Poetry often includes lots of figurative language, which can be difficult for some students to interpret.

By including a wide variety of genres in instruction, educators can help students learn to apply reading strategies in many types of texts and improve their overall comprehension.

Additionally, including instruction about a variety of text structures such as cause and effect, problem and solution, or compare and contrast can help students navigate an array of complex texts.

Comprehension isn't a one-size-fits-all skill. By introducing students to various genres and teaching them how to recognize different text structures, we can give them the tools to succeed across a wide range of reading contexts.

Misconception 4: Reading Comprehension Is the Result of One Instructional Approach

Another misconception is that there is one "best" approach to teaching reading comprehension. However, neither researchers nor educators have firmly established that one particular approach results in strong reading comprehension outcomes for all students.

Often you will hear the debate between two camps of thought. The first advocates for teaching specific strategies — like summarizing, questioning, and visualizing — that can empower students to navigate texts more effectively. The other camp advocates for a focus on content-rich reading, emphasizing the importance of background knowledge on reading comprehension.

However, the truth really lies somewhere more in the middle.

Combine Instructional Approaches for Increased Success

Both approaches have their merits, and combining them likely offers the greatest chance for success. By integrating strategy instruction with content-rich reading experiences, teachers can equip students with the tools they need to approach texts critically while also ensuring they have the knowledge base to make deeper connections.

Misconception 5: The Root Cause of Struggle on Standardized Reading Assessments Is Always Reading Comprehension

A common misconception in education is that if students struggle on standardized reading assessments, the immediate solution is to intervene in reading comprehension.

While it’s true that comprehension plays a critical role in overall reading success, the reality is that reading struggles can stem from a variety of underlying issues, including difficulties with decoding, fluency, vocabulary knowledge, etc. Students may struggle with one or multiple strands of the reading rope.

For example, a student might perform poorly on a comprehension test not because they lack the ability to understand the text, but they struggle to decode the words or read fluently. In such cases, simply targeting comprehension strategies may not address the root of the problem.

Responsive Teaching Is Critical for Improving Reading Comprehension

Responsive teaching practices include thorough assessment to identify the specific areas where a student is struggling. This might involve looking at their phonemic awareness, phonics skills, and fluency in addition to comprehension.

For example, if a student has difficulty sounding out words, interventions that focus on phonics and decoding skills will be crucial before they can effectively tackle comprehension. Equally, a student may be able to decode a word but lack the vocabulary to understand the word's meaning. In this case, additional intervention around phonics and decoding skills would not improve the student's comprehension; instead, more intensive vocabulary instruction would be necessary.

Ultimately, the key is to recognize that reading is a complex skill that requires attention to multiple components. By addressing the specific needs of each student, educators can provide more targeted and effective interventions, leading to better overall reading outcomes.

Misconception 6: Providing “Just Right” Texts Will Improve Reading Comprehension

The idea that providing "just right" instructional texts — texts that match a student’s current reading ability — will improve their reading comprehension is a misconception.

Research has shown that exposure to complex texts can lead to deeper comprehension skills, even if initial performance might dip.

When students work with texts that push their current abilities, they develop critical thinking skills and a richer vocabulary as they grapple with difficult concepts and language. This process is similar to training a muscle; just as physical challenges can build strength, intellectual challenges can enhance comprehension skills.

So, how can we help students build their reading muscles?

Teachers need to provide effective scaffolding to help students bridge the gap between their current reading ability and the complex text. This can be accomplished through, for example, teaching unknown vocabulary words, building or activating background knowledge, breaking down sentence syntax, and teaching genre/text structure.

Dispelling Reading Comprehension Myths Can Improve Reading Skills

By acknowledging and eliminating these misconceptions around reading comprehension we will give our students a better chance at reading with proficiency.

If you missed it, check out our last blog in the “Debunking Science of Reading Myths” series, “Unlocking Word Meaning: Addressing Vocabulary Instruction Misconceptions.” Or you can explore all five articles in the entire series here.