CHAPTER 1

The Problem

Introduction

Reading is a multi-faceted process involving word recognition, comprehension, fluency,

and motivation.1 It serves as a means of communication and a tool to acquire knowledge. The

skill in reading is a fundamental part to function in today’s society. It is a skill needed in day to

day activities as simple as reading street signs, directions, advertisements, menus and many

others. Aside from this, it serves as a source of vast information and assists in shaping one’s

ability to reason logically which is needed to survive in the challenging educational environment.

More importantly, this knowledge helps man to enhance his capacity to retain, process, and filter

information so that relevance of every experience may be discerned.2

Learning to read well is a long term-developmental process. At the end-point the

proficient adult reader can read variety of materials with ease and interest, can read for varying

purposes and can read with comprehension even when the material is neither easy to understand

nor intrinsically interesting.3 A great emphasis on the skill of reading has been placed throughout

the years because of its significant role in developing critical skills. It is an undeniable fact that

reading is the foundation of learning. Without being able to read and comprehend, learning

cannot take place.

The Department of Education launched the “Every Child A Reader Program” that

addresses the thrust of the institution to make every Filipino child a reader at his/her own level. It

is designed to equip elementary pupils with strategic reading and writing skills to make them
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independent young readers and writers. It also provides a year-long training for teachers to make

them multi-literate and independent problem solvers.4

However, despite these efforts in improving reading literacy among the learners, it is

undeniable that schools still face major problems in reading particularly in the learners’ ability to

comprehend reading materials which leads to poor understanding of printed symbols. To assess

the reading level of each students, elementary and secondary schools conduct Phil-IRI at the start

of every school year.

The Phil-IRI is used as a classroom-based assessment tool aims to measure and describe

the learners’ reading performance in both English and Filipino languages in oral reading, silent

reading and listening comprehension. These three types of assessment aim to determine the

learner’s independent, instructional and frustration levels. The Phil-IRI data shall also serve as

one of the bases in planning, designing or redesigning the reading instruction of the teachers and

the school’s reading programs or activities to improve the overall school’s reading performance.5

In an article released by Manila Times, it mentioned an article posted by Catanduanes

Division on their website which shows that the results of PHIL-IRI (Pre-Test and Post Test)

revealed that there were still many learners in all schools and in all levels that are still in the

frustration and instructional group in reading level. Much more, nonreaders are still present in all

grade levels.6

Reading comprehension levels still needs grave improvement despite the mastery of basic

elements of English language such as grammar and vocabulary. Most students can read and

pronounce reading materials correctly, however only few of them can understand the selection.

According to Pressley (2002), good text comprehension emerges if a reader can predict what the
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text may be about, relates information in the text to background knowledge, asks questions while

reading, monitors the understanding of the text, and summarizes what is being read.7

Kruidenier (2002) elaborated that comprehension is an active process and the reader must

interact and be engaged with the text for it to work well. It is also a strategic process which can

be taught. As comprehension takes place, words are decoded and associated with their meaning

in the reader’s memory and phrases and sentences are processed rapidly or fluently enough to

that the meanings derived from one world, phrase, or sentence are not lost before the next is

processed. Yet, reading comprehension can be described as understanding a text that is read, or

the process of constructing meaning from a text.8

Weak readers who are still struggling with word recognition have enormous difficulty

progressing beyond a literal level of comprehension because most of their cognitive effort is

taken up in unlocking the print.9 In the current curriculum, the teaching of reading in Mother

Tongue, Filipino and English is no longer done just in Grade 1, but in Grades 1 to 3 in that order

because a study has shown that it is important for children to learn to read in the Mother Tongue

before they could learn to read in other languages.

In reality, there are still a number of learners who enter high school which experience

reading difficulty specially in comprehending the reading selections. Reading difficulties are the

principal causes of failure in school. Reading experiences strongly influence a student’s feeling

of competency. If not achieved, there could be reading failure that may lead to misbehavior,

anxiety, and lack of motivation in comprehending any of the reading materials in English.10

Within this context, the researcher was prompted to study the factors that affect the

reading comprehension skills of incoming Grade 8 students in Cotmon National High School.
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Aside from this, this study also aims to overcome these factors. This will be of great help in

improving students’ performance when it comes to the skill of reading which will be beneficial

to them as they move forward in the future.

Statement of the Problem:

The general aim of this study is to determine the factors that affect the comprehension

skills of Cotmon National High School Incoming Grade 8 students. Specifically, the study ought

to answer the following questions:

a. How many students fall under frustration, instructional and independent level

based on Phil-IRI pre-test and post-test?

b. What are the factors that affect the reading comprehension skills of Cotmon

National High School Grade 8 students?

c. What is the impact of these factors in the reading capability of the learners?

d. What reading activities can be conducted to enhance reading comprehension

skills of the learners?

Scope and Delimitation

The study is limited to incoming Grade 8 students under the school year 2019-2020. It

will center on determining the factors that affect their reading comprehension skills. It will

revolve around the reading comprehension levels based on the Phil-IRI result and their attitude

towards their reading skill.

It will involve Grade 8 students who will be randomly selected from five sections. Other

Junior High School year levels will not be included in the study because only the incoming
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Grade 8 students will be under the teaching supervision of the researcher. This study is only

limited to provide results on comprehension level and factors in reading comprehension.

Significance of the Study

The results of this study will lead to an in-depth understanding of the factors that affect

reading comprehension skills of Grade 8 students. Aside from this, this study can serve as a basis

in creating remedial reading programs and activities to improve readying comprehension skills

among learners.

Furthermore, this study is an endeavor that intends to benefit the following individuals

and entities:

Students. This study will make them aware of the different factors that affect their

reading comprehension skills. Likewise, they will understand and appreciate the importance of

possessing the skill in reading comprehension not just inside the classroom but also in day to day

living.

Teachers. It is said that every teacher is a reading teacher since it is a skill that is crucial

in every subject. This study will provide information that will help the teachers select or devise

appropriate teaching strategies or interventions which may lead to students’ improved

performance. This will also serve as an eye opener to understand the

Parents. This study will serve as their guide to motivate and arouse their children’s

interest and improve their reading habits specially at home. This study will also help them

understand that their children’s performance will improve when reinforced at home.
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School Administrators. The outcome of this study will make them aware of the situation

and will be able to improve programs for school advancement in the quest of the teachers and

students in having better performance in reading.

Future Researchers. The body of knowledge in the universe is always expanding and

ever-changing. Researches have paved a way for humankind to improve and innovate for the

betterment of the quality of learning. It is a continuous cycle that aims to make life convenient.

Hence, the result of this study may serve as a basis for future researchers who will embark on a

study similar to this one.

Notes:

1
Leipzig, D. H. (2013, November 07). What Is Reading? Retrieved from
http://www.readingrockets.org/article/what-reading

2
Garcera, S. L. (August 2010) A Reading Intervention for the Freshmen of STI College.
Unpublished Undergraduate Thesis: Bicol University Campus

3
Snow, C. (2002, May 18). Reading for Understanding. Retrieved from
https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=R1t9btYnK_EC&dq=reading
comprehension&lr=&source=gbs_navlinks_s

4
Every Child A Reader Program (ECARP). (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://deped12.weebly.com/every-child-a-reader-program-ecarp/every-child-a-reader-program-
ecarp

5
Policy Guidelines on the Administration of the Revised Philippine Informal Reading Inventory.
(2018, March 26). Retrieved from http://www.deped.gov.ph/2018/03/26/do-14-s-2018-policy-
guidelines-on-the-administration-of-the-revised-philippine-informal-reading-inventory/

6
Albano, E. (2019, March 13). 'High school nonreaders a failure of division and elementary
schools'. Retrieved from https://www.manilatimes.net/high-school-nonreaders-a-failure-of-
division-and-elementary-schools/525216/

8
Kruidenier, J. (2002). Research-Based Principles for Adult Basic Education Reading
Instruction. (USA, The National Institute for Literacy) p. 77

9
Westwood, P. What Teachers Need to Know about Reading and writing Difficulties,
(FirstEdition, Australia, Acer Press, 2008), p. 32

10
Henry, D. J. (2008). The Effective reader. (2nd ed.). New York, NY. Pearson Longman.
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