Three studies examined the impact of different instructional reading materials and subsequent analysis of comprehension by retellings. The first study investigated the influence of the presentation of the material. Subjects, 83 freshmen enrolled in a biology course, were shown one of four combinations of course material involving a slide presentation and an accompanying taped presentation. Results indicated that traditional measures revealed no differences among the groups but that on the retellings the students were comprehending differently based on the context in which the information was presented. The second study examined the effect of text structure on retellings. Subjects, 56 third grade students, were provided instruction and later tested for ability to read and comprehend a passage containing three different text patterns--compare/contrast, enumeration, and sequence. Results indicated traditional measures did not reveal major trends in the reading process that retellings brought out. The third study investigated the effect of different instructional materials on children's reading behavior and comprehension. Subjects, 30 second grade students, read orally and then recalled four different types of stories immediately after reading. Results indicated a holistic scoring format allowed a consideration of aspects of comprehension not revealed by traditional information-based measures. The results of all three studies indicated that group mean scores tended to camouflage differences and that total scores did not reveal important information about students' comprehension. (Three tables of data and four figures are included; 39 references are attached.) (RS)