At the dawn of the twenty-first century, the written word remains one of the major means of transferring knowledge, while the development of new means of communication has extended the importance of reading skills to every area of human endeavour. Yet, even in developed countries, a significant number of people continue to have difficulties understanding what they read.Reading quickly and superficially is not the best way of learning and understanding — for anyone, even good students. The present volume is a sequel to the earlier Apprendre à Lire, which summarised the studies carried out by the Observatoire National de la Lecture on the acquisition of reading skills in primary schools. Written by renowned experts and experienced practitioners in the field of reading skills, Maîtriser la Lecture addresses the problems encountered by pupils at the end of primary school, and reviews available methods and solutions to help them improve their reading skills and comprehension. This book shows that, contrary to popular belief, a child’s academic future is not predetermined by the age of eight. The findings reviewed here should be taken into account by all responsible pedagogues.