Most students and adults learn to read at some level of proficiency. There is, however, a sufficient amount of evidence that many do not learn to read well. Their reading skills limit their ability to learn and to use reading in their daily lives.

The act of reading may appear to be simple but reading is a complex, dynamic interaction among the reader, the text, and the context.

The context consists of purposes for reading that the reader might use in constructing meaning from text.

Readers bring to this interaction their prior knowledge about the content, as well as their skill in reading.

One of the reader's skills is the knowledge of the reading process and the structure of text. Readers approach reading differently, depending on the text itself and their purposes for reading.

The outcome of this interaction is meaning and understanding.

Most students and adults learn to read at some level of proficiency. There is, however, a sufficient amount of evidence that many do not learn to read well. Their reading skills limit their ability to learn and to use reading in their daily lives.

The act of reading may appear to be simple but reading is a complex, dynamic interaction among the reader, the text, and the context.

In beginning reading, the basic skills of word recognition Reading and decoding are highly related to reading ability. However, by the middle grades children's knowledge of word meanings and vocabulary become critical factors in comprehension.

The impact of the shift in reading requirements begins to appear in the third and fourth grades. All children, especially low income students, need strong programs of basic skills, especially word recognition and phonics in the primary grades. They also need strong programs in language and literature. These require challenging reading texts, continuous oral language development, varied literature, and the use of a variety of literacy materials and activities.