How Proficient Readers Read
How Proficient Readers Read
How Proficient Readers Read
October 9, 1998
Abstract
In any given grade one can observe a wide range of reading abilities.
These abilities are distinguishable through reading levels, comprehension skills,
phonemic awareness, and a general love for reading. A student may display
proficiency in any one of these four areas, but a proficient reader is one that has
strong skills in all areas. Proficiency is defined as the ability to construct meaning
from text at a reading level higher than the students’ age. With this definition in
mind, one may wonder, "What makes one student more proficient than
another?" The purpose of this paper, based on research published in
professional journal articles and other educational resources, is to examine what
qualities proficient readers display and what reading and comprehension
strategies they use in developing their proficiency.
Review of Literature
A recent study shows that readers acquire six qualities that allow them to
become proficient (Riley, 1992). Proficiency depends on these qualities working
together and creating the elaborate process of reading (Myers, 1991). The first
quality Riley (1992) cites is understanding the purposes of reading. Good readers
develop an understanding of why they are reading a specific text, decide a
goal for their reading such as educational, recreational, and informational, and
develop a high level of comprehension (Aarnoutse & Brand-Gruwel, 1997;
Gunning, 1996; Pressley & Whatnot-McDonald, 1997). It is with this understanding
of purpose that proficient readers gain ownership of the material and develop a
love for reading.
The third quality that can be seen in proficient readers is a strong ability to
process the structures of print. This means being knowledgeable of letter/sound
correspondence, syntactic structures, and semantic associations (Riley, 1992).
Letter/sound correspondence refers to a person’s level of phonemic awareness.
A high level in this area allows students to separate sounds and thus be able to
understand and develop literacy (Gunning, 1996). Syntactic structures refer to
the order of words in a sentence and semantic associations are the meaning of
words. These help to make up the structures of the English language and help
students make sense of the print (Hahn, 1996). Together with phonemic
awareness, syntax and semantics work towards understanding text and building
literacy.
The fifth ability that proficient readers display is the application of a variety
of strategies to comprehend their reading (Riley, 1992). Some of these strategies
follow a sequential order as the reading process continues. First, students should
understand why they are reading a chosen text so they can have a focus for
their reading. Second, while reading a text, students develop hypotheses,
integrate ideas, and construct conclusions. Finally, good readers will re-read or
skim previous sectors of a text to further develop their comprehension (Pressley &
Whatnot-McDonald, 1997). Although these are but a few of the existing
strategies available to readers, they work towards helping the student create
meaning and comprehension.
The sixth and final aspect of proficient readers is that they read and enjoy
a variety of meaningful texts. These texts can range from academic textbooks to
fiction or non-fiction books to newspaper articles or magazines to comics (Riley,
1992). Through reading such a wide variety of texts, good readers display a
strong passion for reading especially "when the text includes ideas near and
dear to their hearts" (Pressley & Whatnot-McDonald, 1997, p. 450).
Implications
References
Gunning, T. G. (1996). Creating reading instruction for all children (2nd ed.).
Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Riley, J. D. (1992). Using the proficient reader protocol to evaluate middle school
reading behaviors. The Clearing House, 66(1), 41-44.