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lower than reading in the first language. Thus, proper knowledge of the language is badly needed. However, “readers’ linguistic knowledge continues
to deve lop with age and experience” Alderson, 2000, p. 34. Hence, it is clear
that if readers are more accustomed to reading, the comprehension level might increase. Besides the language, the knowledge of the text type is a part of
formal schemata. If one knows the text type, he will likely know how the text is organized, how information is signaled, and how to look for the main idea.
Meanwhile, content schemata are more about the text. Therefore, knowledge about the topic of the text is extremely important. Alderson 2000
believes that if readers know nothing about the topic, the process of understanding the text will be difficult. Alderson and Urquhart 1985 have
shown that most reading tests on texts with subject disciplines that students had studied were sometimes easier to process. It is clear that the knowledge of
the subject matter is essential. Besides, knowledge of the world helps readers understand the text better. It means that readers know how the world works
through the knowledge of general rules and universal values or norms. The last important aspect of content schemata is cultural knowledge. One will
relatively be easier to process and understand a text if the cultural setting is familiar to them Alderson, 2000.
f. Designing Reading Comprehension Questions
One way to detect and diagnose difficulties in reading is by giving students tests. Through testing, students’ being successful in comprehending
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the text can be seen and measured. A reading comprehension test is designed to reveal how deep students understand the content and to measure where their
reading level is. Furthermore, there are some other reasons why it is important to conduct a reading comprehension test. It is believed to be able to monitor
progress and to test psychological theories of cognitive skills that underlie reading development and disorders Cain Oakhill, 2006. However, a
reading comprehension test is not only to guide students to comprehend a text, but to develop their ability to comprehend texts Davies Widdowson, 1974.
Hence, it is clear that students are expected to gain knowledge from today’s reading to help them understand tomorrow’s reading Nation, 2009.
However, the accuracy of students’ comprehension is closely related to the comprehension questions. The result might be invalid if the questions fail
to measure their understanding of the texts. Comprehension questions should have a focus so teachers can check the questions whether or not they provide a
suitable range of focus Nation, 2009. These focuses later will result in the relationship among questions-answers, the text, the author and readers. This
relationship might help students enhance their comprehension Raphael, 1984. There are four types of hierarchical questions levels as proposed by
Cecil, Baker, and Lozano 1999. The first type is literal questions. These questions are the lowest level.
Here, the answer is “right there” and should be easy to find in the text. In fact, the exact words in the questions are contained within the text. Nation 2009
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adds that the questions are simply stated in the text, so “such questions could be answered by quoting parts from the text” p. 34.
The second type is inferential questions. This level requires the readers to “think and search” as well as inferring meanings. Unlike the first type, the
words used in the questions may be a bit different from the words used in the text. Furthermore, Nation 2009 argues that inferential questions take
messages from the text by “working out the main idea of the text, looking at
the organization of the text, determining the writer’s attitude to the topic, interpreting characters, and figuring out cause and effect” p. 34.
The next type is higher than literal and inferential questions; they are critical questions. Cecil, Baker, and Lozano 1999 see the answers to the
questions are in the mind of “the author and you”. The readers here are required to combine their own ideas and the authors’ implicit opinions within
the text. Some possible elements involved in this text are “applying ideas from
the text to solve problems, applying the ideas in the text to personal experience, comparing ideas inside and outside the text, imagining extensions
of the text, and fitting ideas in the text to wider field” Nation, 2009, p. 34. The highest level of comprehension questions is creative questions.
Here, the answers have to be on the readers’ own. Answering these questions probably requires students to
“find qualified evidence in the text, evaluate adequate content of the text, and express agreement or disagreement with the
