The effects of prior knowledge in a scenario-based comprehension assessment: A multidimensional approach

This study examined how different qualities of readers' prior knowledge influenced performance on a Scenario Based Assessment (SBA). High school students (n = 506) completed a SBA in either the domain of science (ecology) or the domain of history (women's suffrage). In addition to the SBA, participants completed a measure of foundational reading skills and three measures of prior knowledge (topical vocabulary, basic/factual, inte-grated/conceptual) for both domains. While all three knowledge measures predicted comprehension above and beyond reading skill, they differentially contributed to SBA performance. These findings highlight the need to not only evaluate how much a student knows prior to learning, but to understand the nature of that knowledge and how it will help or hinder comprehension.