Reading test questions were classified as literal or inferential. The kind of question was controlled to determine the influence of test format on comprehension. Analysis of variance indicated no direct effects attributable to test format or kinds of comprehension. Contentions of deficits in automaticity and attentional focus in poor readers were…

Investigates: (1) whether differences exist in comprehension when children listen, read orally, and read silently; and (2) whether such differences exist for all readers. Finds that relationships between the three modalities vary as a function of level of reading competency. (SR)

To test the assumption that questions measuring literal comprehension and those measuring inferential comprehension are equally valid indices for both oral and silent reading tests at all skill levels, questions from the Analytic Reading Inventory were classified as either literal or inferential. Subjects, 94 children in grades two to five, read…