Which statement best describes the relationship between decoding and comprehension?

Which statement best describes the relationship between decoding and comprehension?

• A. Readers who comprehend well are also good decoders
• B. Decoding is unrelated to reading comprehension
• C. Comprehension can be achieved without decoding
• D. Decoding is more important than reading comprehension

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is that decoding and comprehension go hand in hand. When a reader can recognize and pronounce words fluently, it frees cognitive resources so they can focus on meaning, rather than laboring over each word. That close link is why the statement holding that readers who understand well are also good at decoding is the strongest: strong decoding skills tend to accompany strong comprehension because fluent word recognition supports meaning-making. If decoding is weak, it disrupts understanding because the reader must devote attention to figuring out what the words are, leaving less mental capacity to interpret the text’s ideas. So decoding is foundational to comprehension, not unrelated or less important. While good readers also rely on background knowledge and strategies to interpret text, the ability to decode well is a strong predictor of how well someone will comprehend overall.

The main idea here is that decoding and comprehension go hand in hand. When a reader can recognize and pronounce words fluently, it frees cognitive resources so they can focus on meaning, rather than laboring over each word. That close link is why the statement holding that readers who understand well are also good at decoding is the strongest: strong decoding skills tend to accompany strong comprehension because fluent word recognition supports meaning-making.

If decoding is weak, it disrupts understanding because the reader must devote attention to figuring out what the words are, leaving less mental capacity to interpret the text’s ideas. So decoding is foundational to comprehension, not unrelated or less important. While good readers also rely on background knowledge and strategies to interpret text, the ability to decode well is a strong predictor of how well someone will comprehend overall.