Read with Understanding Performance Continuum

Performance Level 6

How adults at Level 6 Read with Understanding:
  • Determine the reading purpose.
  • Select reading strategies appropriate to the purpose.
  • Monitor comprehension and adjust reading strategies.
  • Analyze the information and reflect on its underlying meaning.
  • Integrate it with prior knowledge to address reading purpose.

Level 6 Indicators

Use Key Knowledge, Skills, and Strategies Adults performing at Level 6 can:
  • Recognize and interpret terms, signs, symbols, acronyms, and abbreviations;
  • Demonstrate familiarity with extensive specialized content knowledge and vocabulary and with the organization of long, complex prose and complex documents;
  • Use a wide range of strategies to guide reading of long texts;
  • Identify both directly stated and implied important information;
  • Monitor and enhance comprehension using a wide range of strategies, such as brainstorming and question formulation techniques;
  • Organize and analyze information and reflect upon its meaning using a wide range of strategies, such as applying relevant information to multiple scenarios, summarizing, and drawing "big picture" conclusions and generalizations from detailed reading;
  • Integrate prior knowledge with new information in texts to develop deep understanding of the information.

Show Fluency, Independence, and Ability to Perform in a Range of Settings

Adults performing at Level 6 can read and comprehend long, complex texts at an appropriate pace and with good comprehension, to independently accomplish structured or unstructured, complex reading activities in a variety of familiar and novel settings.

Level 6 Examples of Proficient Performance

Adults performing at Level 6 can Read with Understanding to accomplish a variety of goals, such as:
  • Reading information about financial aid for higher education to decide whether to apply for loans and to understand options available if applying for aid.
  • Reading a brochure on workplace medical benefits to distinguish differences between types of plans available and choose the best personal family plan.
  • Reading newspaper editorials that take opposite stands on the same issue and decide which argument was more persuasive to develop a personal position on the issue.
  • Reading a consumer guide about long-distance telephone services to choose personal home service.
  • Reading a journal article on childhood bullying to get ideas about how to cope with a child's bullying behavior.
  • Reading data sheets on material safety to get guidance about safely handling toxic materials in the workplace.
  • Reading a company's employee handbook in order to get up-to-date information about the company's employment leave policies.

To see a Word version of the performance continuum, click here.

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