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Traditionally, item difficulty and cognitive complexity have been considered the same construct when, in fact, they may constitute separate constructs that influence test item responding. In this study we explore the extent to which estimates of item difficulty and item complexity provide distinct information regarding fourth-grade reading comprehension test performance. Using a latent class analysis, we identified three different subgroups of readers. Subgroup response patterns differences across items hypothesized to increase in cognitive complexity (i.e., local text- based, global text- based, and inferential items) were found. Item difficulty estimates varied more as a function of reader subgroup than item type, indicating partial evidence to support a distinction between item difficulty and complexity for explaining reading comprehension performance.