The nature of comprehension is complex. It is an active process in which varied skills and abilities must work together flexibly so the reader can create meaning of the written text. The complex nature of comprehension implies that students who have difficulty in this area also have varied strengths and abilities and demonstrate different patterns of abilities and difficulties. Assessment regarding the nature of these difficulties should be both formal and informal and should address the differing problems and contributing factors, as well as possible instructional solutions. The demands of the text itself are also important. Instructional goals and planning should take into consideration whether the text is expository or narrative, the organization, sentence structure and use of figurative language. Recommendations for strategy instruction from the National Reading Panel (2003) are also included. (author/jlkrause)