Is reading comprehension an innate ability or something that can actively be improved?

<p>It's a constant struggle to improve my CR score and some days, when it feels as if I've finally gotten the hang of it, I encounter another one of those passages with extremely obscure diction, bringing me right back to where I started. After going through numerous practice tests, and hundreds of SAT words, I have finally reached the 650 mark but I can't seem to get any further than that. I'm getting all the sentence completion correct (so my vocab isn't lacking anymore) but I cant seem to improve in reading comprehension which really limits my score. So, I wanted to know if anyone started off as a bad reader like me (perhaps even a person who did minimal to no reading at all prior to the SAT) and somehow improved their score on this section. If there are any success stories like this one, please do share, and let me know what you did to improve your score. Thanks :)</p>

<p>[start of rant]</p>

<p>No one can read when they are born. No one can read well without lots of practice. Reading comprehension is 100% a learned skill and you can absolutely improve it. The trick is practice. </p>

<p>Read. Read each day. Read things you are interested in that are written at an adult level. Wikipedia is a great source. Newspapers are great too. Head down to the library and start grabbing books.</p>

<p>Don’t make it a chore. Some of the greatest stories and ideas of all time are only available in writing. Find those. Become obsessed. You may have time to improve your score substantially. You may not. But regardless, if you can foster a love of reading you will do better. You will do better in college. You will do better in your job. You will do better in all of life.</p>

<p>[rant over]</p>

<p>I would recommend a couple of things. Following on the above, I agree that reading a lot can help. But I would target material that is similar to the stuff that is on the SAT. I personally think that reading op-ed pieces in a quality newspaper makes for pretty good practice because the authors usually have an argument that they are making and you really need to dial into that…its not just about reading for comprehension (and neither is the SAT).</p>

<p>I would also recommend Erica Meltzer’s The Critical Reader (I have recommended her books a few times already on this forum but I swear I don’t work for her…her books are just really good and I often use them with the students that I tutor). Its not an easy book to get through, but its the best book I have seen for reading comprehension for any of the major standardized tests and if you are motivated to go through it (it sounds like you are), you will almost certainly improve on RC.</p>

<p>Also, for what its worth, since you did ask if its an innate ability or something that is learned, I was actually not that great a reader when I was in HS and not that good at the Verbal section of the SAT (and believed at the time that that was innate and that I was just more of a Math/Science guy). But that changed dramatically when I was in college and then even more in graduate school so I can say with 100% certainty that you can learn how to be a better reader!</p>

<p>Thank you so much for all your help guys! I’ll definitely be reading a lot more from now on (specifically SAT oriented material as reasonsat mentioned) However, have a question for @reasonsat . What specific newspaper do you recommend as most beneficial for SAT passages? </p>

<p>I mean I like the NY Times, but I am from NY and am left leaning (politically, that is…and so is the NY times). But I think any reputable newspaper would do. You can access the op-ed section online and see what you think. When you read the pieces try to keep in mind that it is usually not a presentation of facts (like other news stories) but an opinion piece (Op-Ed stands for Opinions and Editorials). And so try to pay attention to what the author is arguing, how he or she supports that argument, and whether or not you agree with it. That is the essence of reading critically. Good luck!</p>

<p>Agreed. Reading comprehension can most definitely be improved. DS2 has a reading comprehension disability, a side effect of a Processing deficiency. It used to be that, he was a brilliant-sounding reader when he read aloud–perfect pacing, read with a lot of feeling and personality–best reader in the class. But when he finished, he had no earthly idea what he had just read to the class. </p>

<p>If he was reading for comprehension, it took him FOREVER and the results were mixed, at best. He has had two Neuropsych tests, both showing very low Reading Comprehension scores, even as recently as 9th grade. However, he was fascinated by historical fiction and non-fiction books–the 400 page ones written for adults. So, in elementary school, he just started reading those types of books in the summer when he had time.</p>

<p>I had absolutely NO idea that his reading comprehension had improved over the years. He is still a bit slower at reading to himself than most people, I think. However, when he took the ACT the first time in 11th grade, he scored a 35 in Reading. He had done absolutely NO test prep. We were blown away! The next time, he scored a 36. He wasn’t putting any extra effort into improving his reading comprehension. He was just reading difficult texts for fun. So, yes, in our experience, reading comprehension scores can most definitely be improved simply by reading; the more advanced the texts, the better. Good luck!</p>

<p>Reading comprehension is something that can be learned. </p>

<p>I highly recommend the Barron’s SAT Critical Reading Workbook and Gruber’s Complete SAT Critical Reading Workbook. They worked great for me and really focused on the essentials of what I needed to tackle. Both books are perfect for honing on your reading comprehension skill and boosting your vocabulary. Also, for boosting vocab, try SAT Power Vocab by Princeton Review. </p>

<p>Using those books helped me get my score up over 100 points. I’m sure it’ll work for you as well. If you can’t invest in supplementary books like that, I recommend Googling PDF’s or Googling vocabulary lists, strategies, and practice questions online for you to work out. </p>

<p>Good luck! </p>