Background

From 1997 to 2000, the National Reading Panel (NRP) reviewed the research-based knowledge about reading and instruction. They assessed the studies of

• phonemic awareness instruction,

• phonics instruction,

• fluency,

• vocabulary instruction,

• teacher preparation for strategies instruction,

• teacher education and reading instruction,

• computer technology and reading instruction, and,  

• text comprehension instruction, the focus of this site.

Comprehension Strategies Instruction Research

There is no small amount of research. The group that focused text comprehension instruction located more than 500 studies on strategy instructions. Using criteria to filter scientific wheat from chaff, such as whether a study of a strategy instruction included a control group, they found that over 200 of these studies were conducted sufficiently well to be confident that the conclusions based on them are trustworthy. The NRP "Text Comprehension" review forms the basis the conclusions reported here.

Who Benefits

While the NRP concentrated on elementary grades, applying comprehension strategies may benefit readers at all stages of learning -- indeed, throughout life.