title: Does the Component Processes Task Assess Text-Based Inferences Important for Reading Comprehension? A Path Analysis in Primary School Children.
abstract: Using a component processes task (CPT) that differentiates between higher-level cognitive processes of reading comprehension provides important advantages over commonly used general reading comprehension assessments. The present study contributes to further development of the CPT by evaluating the relative contributions of its components (text memory, text inferencing, and knowledge integration) and working memory to general reading comprehension within a single study using path analyses. Participants were 173 third- and fourth-grade children. As hypothesized, knowledge integration was the only component of the CPT that directly contributed to reading comprehension, indicating that the text-inferencing component did not assess inferential processes related to reading comprehension. Working memory was a significant predictor of reading comprehension over and above the component processes. Future research should focus on finding ways to ensure that the text-inferencing component taps into processes important for reading comprehension.
authors.affiliation: Department of Educational Neuroscience and LEARN! Research Institute for Learning and Education, VU University Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Stephanie I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Wassenburg
authors.affiliation: Department of Educational Neuroscience and LEARN! Research Institute for Learning and Education, VU University AmsterdamAmsterdam, Netherlands; Department of Psychology, Education, and Child Studies, Erasmus School of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Erasmus University RotterdamRotterdam, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Björn B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: de Koning
authors.affiliation: Department of Educational Neuroscience and LEARN! Research Institute for Learning and Education, VU University Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Meinou H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: de Vries
authors.affiliation: Department of Educational Neuroscience and LEARN! Research Institute for Learning and Education, VU University Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Menno
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van der Schoot
keywords: assessment; children; component processes task; reading comprehension; text-based inferences; working memory