Parents are often surprised to learn that accomplished readers, when questioned about particulars of a story, have 'missed the point.' Catholic reading comprehension materials, in addition to providing exposure to faith and character-building stories, train the child to analyze what he reads. This analysis leads to a greater understanding of the material read.

As your student is exposed to history and science, which demand deeper analytical reading, he moves from the idea of reading as entertainment to reading as a means of expanding his knowledge about God's world. He begins to see a need to understand what he reads. Parents can increase a child's ability to think about what has been read by questioning him in depth about the material. However, demands on the parent's time often make such questioning difficult. Reading comprehension books provide a practical alternative. As the student answers questions about the stories, he becomes aware that the purpose of reading is often to inform, rather than merely to entertain.

Finally, as the child becomes more adept at analyzing what has been read, he realizes the additional benefit of improved reading scores on standardized tests.