Begin with phonics books designed for young readers, if you are starting from scratch. While you may find the simple words and sentence structures a little frustrating, learning fundamental phonics, short words and basic sentences is the best way for you to quickly ramp up your reading ability. With persistence and perseverance, you should be able to move quickly through the beginning phases of reading; after all, you have an advantage over young children learning to read, in that you already have an advanced vocabulary.
Test for reading comprehension. A number of standardized tests asses adult reading comprehension, which can be a valuable tool in properly placing you in an adult literacy program. Tests may be administered by your community college system, local adult learning programs, your public school system or state adult literacy groups. Information may be available at your public library. Common standardized tests to assess adult reading comprehension include: the Adult Basic Learning Examination, the Test of Adult Basic Education, the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, and the General Educational Development, GED.
Enroll in an adult literacy program. These programs are often offered for low-cost or free of charge through your local school system, and can help with both reading and comprehension issues. They provide tutoring, assignments and assessments to help you progress in your reading skills.
Continue reading, focusing on comprehension. Many adults see reading as merely decoding to obtain information; effectively increasing comprehension necessitates understanding how pieces of information fit together and form a greater meaning. Some basic strategies include finding the main idea, summarizing and drawing inferences, creating visual images and looking for clues.