US 26624 version 6: Read texts with understanding

Updated October 2024 for version 6.

Naturally occurring evidence (Guidance Information 2 and 3)

Evidence for this standard can come from any activity in the candidate’s everyday life, including formative and summative assessments, so long as the main purpose of those assessments is not the one-off assessment of standard 26624.

Complexity of texts (Guidance Information 3)

For samples of texts of sufficient complexity to meet the reading demands of this standard (step 4 of the Learning Progressions for Adult Literacy), see the Achieved annotated exemplars for this standard, and the 'Read with Understanding' Learning Progressions.

Reader assistance (Guidance Information 6)

Reader assistance is not permitted.

Refer to the list of standards excluded from Special Assessment Conditions:

Assessments were SAC provision is not appropriate or not allowed

Reader’s purpose (Performance criteria 1.1)

The learner’s purpose for reading the text must be explicitly stated for the assessor to be able to ascertain if the information the learner has located is relevant to that purpose.

For example, “To find information about…” or “To learn how to…”

Text is summarised (Performance criteria 1.2)

Learners must demonstrate an understanding of the ideas of the text by summarising the ideas or purpose in their own words.

Evidence where sections of the text have been copied word-for-word by the learner will not demonstrate the required level of understanding, and is not valid evidence.

Explicit and implicit ideas (Performance criteria 1.2 range statement)

The requirement for explicit and implicit ideas to be described is about the learner’s reading comprehension – refer to the demands of step 4 of the 'Read with Understanding: Comprehension' progression of the Learning Progressions for Adult Literacy.

Explicit ideas must be summarised for each text in a learner portfolio.

Implicit ideas are ideas that are implied, hinted at or suggested in the text, but not directly expressed.

This standard requires learners to ‘read between the lines’, ‘picking up’ what the author has implied.

Learners are not required to extrapolate/theorise beyond the implicit ideas contained in the text.

Note that very factual texts are unlikely to provide an opportunity for learners to describe implicit ideas. This requirement can be met once across the three texts.

Writer’s purpose (Performance criteria 1.3)

This is about the learner recognising the purpose for which the text was written and the perspective or intention of the writer, and is a component of the 'Reading Critically' progression of the Learning Progressions for Adult Literacy.

Text is evaluated (Performance criteria 1.4)

This is about the learner evaluating their text with supporting evidence. ]

Learners must describe why a text may be useful, of interest, valid or credible in terms of their purpose.

Find clarifications for standards 26622, 26623 and 26625-26627