In evaluating a student's reading comprehension of informational text, what approach is recommended?

In evaluating a student's reading comprehension of informational text, what approach is recommended?

• A. Rely solely on one true/false question.
• B. Ask students to retell the passage without details.
• C. Use multiple measures that include questions, retellings, and performance tasks.
• D. Only test recall of facts.

Answer: (C)

Using multiple measures to evaluate reading comprehension of informational text gives a fuller, more accurate picture of what a student understands and can do with what they read. When you combine different tasks, you capture not only recall of specific details but also grasp of main ideas, organization, and the ability to apply information in new ways. Questions can check for key facts and inferences, retellings reveal how well the student reconstructs the text’s ideas in their own words and shows the structure, and performance tasks require using the information to compare, analyze, or create something new. Relying on a single true/false item tests only surface recognition and can miss deeper understanding. A retelling that leaves out details or a test focused only on recall won’t reveal how well a student can think with the information. So, using a mix of questions, retellings, and performance tasks gives a clearer, more reliable view of comprehension and how students can apply what they read.

Using multiple measures to evaluate reading comprehension of informational text gives a fuller, more accurate picture of what a student understands and can do with what they read. When you combine different tasks, you capture not only recall of specific details but also grasp of main ideas, organization, and the ability to apply information in new ways. Questions can check for key facts and inferences, retellings reveal how well the student reconstructs the text’s ideas in their own words and shows the structure, and performance tasks require using the information to compare, analyze, or create something new. Relying on a single true/false item tests only surface recognition and can miss deeper understanding. A retelling that leaves out details or a test focused only on recall won’t reveal how well a student can think with the information. So, using a mix of questions, retellings, and performance tasks gives a clearer, more reliable view of comprehension and how students can apply what they read.