Levels of Comprehension

The three levels of comprehension, or sophistication of thinking, are presented in the following hierarchy from the least to the most sophisticated level of reading.

• Least = surface, simple reading
• Most = in-depth, complex reading

Level One

LITERAL - what is actually stated.

• Facts and details
• Rote learning and memorization
• Surface understanding only

TESTS in this category are objective tests dealing with true / false, multiple choice and fill-in-the blank questions.

Common questions used to illicit this type of thinking are who, what, when, and where questions.

Level Two

INTERPRETIVE - what is implied or meant, rather than what is actually stated.

• Drawing inferences
• Tapping into prior knowledge / experience
• Attaching new learning to old information
• Making logical leaps and educated guesses
• Reading between the lines to determine what is meant by what is stated.

TESTS in this category are subjective, and the types of questions asked are open-ended, thought-provoking questions like why, what if, and how.

Level Three

APPLIED - taking what was said (literal) and then what was meant by what was said (interpretive) and then extend (apply) the concepts or ideas beyond the situation.

• Analyzing
• Synthesizing
• Applying

In this level we are analyzing or synthesizing information and applying it to other information.

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