Bernhardt (2003) claims that half of the variance in second language (L2) reading is accounted for by first language literacy (20%) and second language knowledge (30%), and that one of the central goals of current L2 reading research should be to investigate the 50% of variance that remains unexplained. Part of this variance takes consists of passage content or background knowledge, and as the reader develops, proficiency presides over passage content. In an attempt to further examine factors involved in the remaining variance, Brantmeier (2002; 2003a, 2003b, 2003c, 2003d; 2004a) conducted a series of studies that include readers' gender as an interacting variable. Results add additional meaning to Bernhardt's (1991) conclusion that background knowledge by itself does not predict comprehension. As proficiency increases, the influence of both background knowledge and readers' gender decrease, or disappear completely. Brantmeier's findings reveal that the interaction of readers' gender and passage content does play a role at the intermediate levels of Spanish language instruction, but not at the advanced stages. The series of studies identifies gender as a moderator of both conceptual and practical importance for the intermediate levels of L2 language instruction at the university. In the present study, reanalysis of data from prior studies was conducted, and findings indicate gender differences in comprehension may be a function of the type of assessment used at the intermediate level. In four studies that utilized the same set of texts across levels of language instruction, the multiple choice test method was inconsistent by gender, and the written recall was consistent by gender with females outperforming males at the intermediate levels of instruction. In addition, findings may indicate a tendency toward readers' gender presiding over topic familiarity on written recall, and topic familiarity presiding over readers' gender on multiple choice at the intermediate levels.