Everyone agrees the goal of reading instruction is for children to understand what they read. The question is: how do they get there? APM Reports continues its series of award-winning documentaries about reading with a new program about comprehension.

Emily Hanford explores what scientists have figured out about how reading comprehension works and why poverty and race can affect reading development. We meet parents who are desperately searching for schools where their children will be taught how to read, and teachers who are learning new things about how reading comprehension develops.

Listen to the full program and read more about the issue on the APM Reports website.