Which statement about the thinking demands of DRA and DR-TA is most accurate?

• A. DR-TA requires divergent thinking only, while DRA does not.
• B. DR-TA requires divergent thinking in addition to convergent thinking.
• C. DR-TA relies on memory of text rather than comprehension.
• D. DR-TA rejects the use of basal readers.

Answer: (B)

Thinking demands in DR-TA involve both generating possibilities and evaluating them as you read. This means the reader not only comes up with multiple interpretations, predictions, or hypotheses about the text (divergent thinking) but also tests those ideas against the actual text, chooses the most supported interpretation, and adjusts as needed (convergent thinking). DR-TA is designed to reveal how a reader monitors comprehension, uses strategies, and adapts when meaning isn’t clear, rather than just recalling or remembering text.

In contrast, the Developmental Reading Assessment focuses more on decoding, accuracy, fluency, and basic comprehension through structured prompts, not on the live strategic problem-solving process during reading. It isn’t about memory of the text but about how well the reader engages with meaning as they read. Basal readers aren’t something DR-TA rejects or endorses; that issue isn’t the point of the thinking demands.