CALT Reading Comprehension 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student reads a passage about ecosystems but cannot explain the main idea in their own words. Which reading comprehension skill is most directly underdeveloped?
- Decoding accuracy
- Paraphrasing and summarization (Correct answer)
- Phonological awareness
- Letter-sound correspondence
Correct answer: Paraphrasing and summarization
Paraphrasing and summarization require the reader to process and restate the gist, which this student struggles with.
Question 2: According to the Simple View of Reading, reading comprehension is the product of which two components?
- Fluency and vocabulary
- Decoding and language comprehension (Correct answer)
- Phonemic awareness and print concepts
- Syntax and semantics
Correct answer: Decoding and language comprehension
The Simple View of Reading (Gough & Tunmer, 1986) defines reading comprehension as Decoding × Language Comprehension.
Question 3: A 4th-grade student decodes accurately but scores poorly on reading comprehension assessments. What is the most likely contributing factor?
- Insufficient phonics instruction
- Weak oral language and background knowledge (Correct answer)
- Poor letter recognition
- Inadequate blending skills
Correct answer: Weak oral language and background knowledge
When decoding is intact but comprehension fails, the deficit typically lies in oral language comprehension or background knowledge.
Question 4: Which type of question requires a student to go beyond stated text information and synthesize ideas from multiple parts of a passage?
- Literal recall questions
- Right-there questions
- Inferential questions (Correct answer)
- Phonological questions
Correct answer: Inferential questions
Inferential questions require readers to combine information and draw conclusions not explicitly stated in the text.
Question 5: A CALT uses a retelling protocol after a student reads a passage. What comprehension component is primarily being assessed?
- Phonemic segmentation
- Narrative comprehension and recall (Correct answer)
- Rapid automatized naming
- Orthographic mapping
Correct answer: Narrative comprehension and recall
Retelling tasks measure how well a student recalls and organizes the content of a passage, reflecting narrative comprehension.
Question 6: Which text structure signal words such as 'however,' 'on the other hand,' and 'in contrast' indicate?
- Sequence/chronological order
- Cause and effect
- Compare and contrast (Correct answer)
- Problem and solution
Correct answer: Compare and contrast
Signal words like 'however' and 'in contrast' cue the reader that the author is comparing or contrasting two ideas.
Question 7: A student with dyslexia has received successful decoding intervention and now reads grade-level words accurately. Why might reading comprehension still lag?
- Decoding instruction reduces vocabulary
- Reading fluency remains slow, limiting cognitive resources for comprehension (Correct answer)
- Phonics overtraining impairs syntax
- Accuracy gains always precede comprehension gains by one grade level
Correct answer: Reading fluency remains slow, limiting cognitive resources for comprehension
If fluency (automaticity) is not yet achieved, slow laborious reading consumes working memory needed for comprehension.
CALT Reading Comprehension 4
A student reads a passage about ecosystems but cannot explain the main idea in their own words.
Which reading comprehension skill is most directly underdeveloped?