For millions of American schoolchildren, taking a test for which they are completely unprepared is like a nightmare from which they cannot wake. It is a trial visited upon them each year when the law requires them to take reading tests with little preparation. Formally preparing for reading tests has become more than just a ritual for schools. It is practically their raison d'etre! Yet students are not prepared in the way they need to be. Schools and teachers may be making a Herculean effort to raise reading scores, but for the most part these efforts do little to improve reading achievement and prepare children for college, a career, and a lifetime of productive, engaged citizenship. The authors contend that this wasted effort is not because American teachers are of low quality. Rather, they argue that too many of American schools have fundamental misconceptions about reading comprehension--how it works, how to improve it, and how to test it. Today, children's reading ability is tested without regard to whether they have been given the vocabulary and knowledge they need to be successful. The authors point out that teaching skills, vocabulary, and knowledge is what schools are supposed to do.