Diagnosing comprehension deficits through listening and reading.

Assessment of students with reading comprehension difficulties should include measurement of both listening and reading comprehension of extended discourse in order to begin to identify the reason or reasons for their deficits. The problems of developing an effective comprehension test are discussed. An experimental screening test, Profiles in Listening and Reading (PILAR), is presented as one approach to assessing comprehension. Its potential as a screening and diagnostic test is considered, using students' profiles from two studies.