This study investigated fourth-grade children's ability to identify and retrieve tachistoscopically presented words in relation to their rated ability on both reading speed and comprehension. No significant difference was found between fast and slow readers in either recognition or retrieval. High comprehension children had significantly lower recognition thresholds and retrieval times than the low comprehenders. In all analyses, high-frequency words had lower recognition thresholds and retrieval times than low-frequency words. Length of word had a significant effect only on retrieval time; the longer words took more time to retrieve. A significant interaction between word length and reading ability on the retrieval task suggests an important locus of difficulty for poor readers in the processing of long words. (Author)