A student who struggles with reading comprehension but can decode text well most likely has a difficulty in:

• A. Language-based processing
• B. Visual acuity
• C. Hearing sensitivity
• D. Fine motor control

Answer: (A)

Reading comprehension depends on both decoding words and understanding language. If a student can decode well—sound out or recognize words accurately—but still struggles to grasp meaning, the challenge is in language-based processing. This includes knowing word meanings (vocabulary), understanding how sentences are built (syntax), making inferences, connecting ideas across sentences, and keeping and integrating information in working memory while reading. For example, they might read aloud smoothly but miss the overall point because they don’t fully understand the words in context or can’t follow the relationships between ideas. Visual acuity problems would affect seeing the text, hearing sensitivity would impact listening rather than reading alone, and fine motor control would affect writing or manipulating tools, not comprehension. So the most likely difficulty is language-based processing.