Merriam-Webster's Definition Of Reading Comprehension

Many children and adults have sat for hours with a book in hand, only to later realize that they had not retained any of the information that they read. The ability to comprehend text is an integral skill in communication, in school, and in the day to day life. Merriam-Webster defines comprehension as “the capacity for understanding fully” , “knowledge gained by comprehending”, or “the act or action of grasping with the intellect (Merriam-Webster). However, some would say that the definition of reading comprehension has moved beyond mere understanding. According to some scholars, the definition now includes the dynamic, reciprocal interactions among reader, text, and the context of the reader’s prior literacy schema (Ulmer et al). Comprehension is affected by prior background knowledge, interest in the reading material, short-term memory, reading speed, sleep quality and quantity, word recognition and vocabulary, processing abilities, attention disorders, reading strategies, content of the text, internet usage, and many other factors. As online communication grows in popularity, reading comprehension …show more content…
Around 14 percent of American adults and 19 percent of high school graduates read below a basic level (U.S. Dept. of Ed., 2015). Only 13 percent of American adults read at a “proficient” level (U.S. Dept. of Ed., 2015).Functional illiteracy, defined as an inability to “read well enough to manage . . . tasks that require reading skills beyond a basic level” (Schlechty), has many detrimental effects on society. Functional illiteracy may be correlated with poverty and with crime rates. Adults at the lowest level of literacy are more “almost ten times more likely” to live below the poverty line (Illiteracy, 2011). Perhaps part of why illiteracy still exists in America is that schools are failing to inspire a habit of daily reading (“History of Literacy”,