Editor's Statement

A model of text comprehension is outlined and its implications for some educational problems are explored. The model distinguishes between the local, phrase‐by‐phrase processing of a text, and global, gist‐producing macroprocesses. Inferences based upon world knowledge play a crucial role in the model. A preliminary experimental test of the model is discussed that involves recall and readability predictions. Readability is considered not as an immutable property of a text, but as the result of a reader‐text interaction; the same text may be difficult for some but easy for other readers. The model discussed may have some value not only because of the specific predictions that it makes, but also because it may promote a more sophisticated understanding of comprehension processes and problems in reading.