The material suggests readers rely on analogies to understand text and on what other approach?

• A. Direct measures of reading comprehension
• B. Visual memory
• C. Phonetic decoding only
• D. Grammar drills

Answer: (A)

Readers often build meaning by connecting new text to what they already know through analogies, while a second, essential approach is direct measures of reading comprehension. Direct measures involve explicitly assessing understanding—things like retelling the story, answering questions about what happened, identifying the main idea, or explaining concepts in one’s own words. These tasks provide concrete evidence that the reader truly grasps the text, beyond just decoding words or relying on memory of isolated details. Visual memory isn’t typically used to confirm comprehension, phonetic decoding focuses on word recognition rather than meaning, and grammar drills target syntax rather than overall understanding.