Due to recent political changes in Latvia, it has been possible to conduct national comparative studies that may result in reforming the educational system. The first national survey in the field of education was the International Association of Educational Achievement (IEA) Reading Literacy Study. This study was done in Latvia as a parallel to national studies using IEA instruments. The results of word recognition scores are discussed in this paper. With a word recognition score of 70.5%, Latvia is among the low-scoring countries. This article also describes reading comprehension of Latvian students at the ages of 9 and 14 years. Results show that 9-year-old students perform relatively better than 14-year-olds. Regional differences in reading comprehension in Latvia were also observed. Students from the western part of the country have the lowest level in reading achievement. Reading comprehension is explored in different contexts, such as gender differences and teaching strategies. Two appendixes present student scores. (Contains five references, six figures, and six tables.) (Author/SLD)