READING COMPREHENSION LEVEL AND ITS IMPACT ON THE ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE OF THE GRADE 8 LEARNERS

A Thesis
Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School
RAMON MAGSAYSAY MEMORIAL COLLEGES
General Santos City

In Partial Fulfilment
Of the Requirement for the Degree
Master of Arts in Education
Major in English

JAYZELLE C. DELOS SANTOS

December 2022
 CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Rationale

In the last 30 years, researchers have conducted various tests to measure

reading comprehension, and it was revealed that many children have difficulties

understanding what they read. Readers experienced problems across all aspects

of the reading process such as vocabulary, fluency, reading comprehension and

reading strategy. Nowadays, there are still many young adolescents who struggle

with reading comprehension The National Center for Educational Statistics

(Elwer, 2014).

Globally, reading comprehension is one of the most complex cognitive

activities in which humans engage, making it difficult to teach, measure, and

research. Despite decades of research in reading comprehension, international

and national reading scores indicate stagnant growth for U.S. adolescents. Thus,

it is the mount or peak of the reading skills and the basis for all reading methods

which affect or has impact on the academic performance of the learners

( Elleman & Oslund, 2018).

Accordingly, academic performance is the extent to which a student,

teacher, or institution has attained their short or long-term educational goals and

is measured either by continuous assessment or cumulative grade point average

(CGPA). Students who had good academic achievements have higher income,

better employment benefits, and more advancement opportunities. Besides,

academically successful students have higher self-esteem and self-confidence,

low levels of anxiety and depression, are socially inclined, and are less likely to

engage in substance abuse (Tadese et al., 2022).

A study conducted by Cromly (2009) that focused specifically on reading

and proficiency in science with an international perspective and included several

countries, including the United States. Cromley found that there was a very high

correlation between reading comprehension and science proficiency, with the

mean for all of the nations being .819. The United States was among the nations

with the highest correlation between reading and science.

In the Philippines, boys’ and girls’ performances in reading both ranked

lowest among PISA-participating countries. Among 79 participating countries

and economies, the Philippines scored the lowest in reading comprehension in

the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), according to

the results released. This implies the urgency in addressing the issues on the

educational system being implemented in the country (San Juan, 2019).

At present, the Department of Education (DepEd) made some steps to

address the problem in reading. One of this is the Reading Progress Tool that

allows the learners to record their own reading progress and gain a sense of

independence in reading. Teachers can track the reading progress of students

easily and efficiently. Accordingly, this activity serves as a reminder to everyone

in the light of the country’s performance in the national and international

assessment tests that its must double the efforts to close the learning gap

particularly in the area of reading which considered the cornerstone of learning.

From this lens the researcher is motivated and interested to venture on

the reading comprehension level of the learners and to see its impact on their

academic performances. Moreover, the result of the study will be of great help to

the locale of the study and can be the basis of strengthening the reading ability of

the learners.

Research Objectives:

This study aims to determine the reading comprehension level of grade 8

learners of Bagong Silang High School enrolled during the academic year 2022-

2023. Moreover, this study has the following objectives:

1. To determine the comprehension level of the grade 8 learners

2. To find out the impact of the reading comprehension level on the

academic performance of the grade 8 learners

3. To determine whether the comprehension level impacts the academic

performance of the grade 8 learners

Hypothesis

The hypothesis will be assumed in this pre-experimental study to be

tested at a 0.05 level of significance:

Ho: The reading comprehension of the grade 8 learners has no impact on

the academic performance of the grade 8 learners

Conceptual Framework

This study will determine the reading comprehension level of the grade 8

learners and its impact on the academic performance of the learners. Moreover,

it will determine whether the reading comprehension level of the learners impact

the academic performances of the grade 8 learners. The hypotheses will be

considered in this study will be tested to draw results and conclusion to serve the

purpose of this inquiry. Figure 1 presents the conceptual framework of the study.
READING COMPREHENSION ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
LEVEL

Figure 1: Conceptual Framework

Theoretical Framework

The study will utilize different theoretical frameworks that could be used to

structure the discussion on reading comprehension level of the e learners. The

undertaking of the present study is based on the discussion of the following

theoretical framework on theories that pertains to the reading comprehension

and academic performance.

Several theories of reading comprehension have emerged over the years.

These include the bottom-up view, the top-down view, the interactive view, the

metacognitive view, and the simple view of reading comprehension. Further,

recommended reading comprehension strategies by some experts will be

discussed in this section. Each of these theories is relevant within the present

context. Thus, discussion and connection will be presented below:

The bottom-up view of reading comprehension, this theory posited that

readers move from an understanding of parts of language to an understanding of

meaning or the whole (Gough, 1972; Holmes, 2009; LaBerge & Samuels, 1974).

Comprehension is thought to be a product of the acquisition of hierarchically

arranged sub-skills (Dole et al., 1991). Thus, lower-level word recognition skills

precede the development of more complex skills that lead to an eventual

understanding of phrases, sentences, and paragraphs. Automaticity in

processing and understanding written text is also thought to affect text

comprehension (LaBerge & Samuels, 1974). Automaticity refers to the fact that

proficient readers can read text automatically and that they do not need to focus
consciously on lower-level word recognition. Thus, children with decoding

problems allot greater cognitive resources to word recognition and less to

comprehension whereas proficient readers are able to devote greater cognitive

resources to higher-level cognitive processes (Daneman & Carpenter,

1980; Perfetti&Hogaboam, 1975).

In connection to the study, reading comprehension requires the

vocabularies or words to comprehend the meaning and connection of each word

stated in a given sentence or a statement. With this, a learner should have an

understanding of a word to grasp the whole meaning of what he/she is reading.

Further, when a learner is struggling with the comprehension, he/she has a

problem in word recognition that later will result in a more complicated one.

Another applicable theory on the study is the top-down view of reading

comprehension. This theory claimed that readers are moving from meaning down

to the component parts of words as they engage with text (Rumelhart,

1980; Shank & Abelson, 1977). According to this view, a reader's mental

frameworks or schemas are the driving force behind successful reading

comprehension (Rumelhart, 1980). Readers are actively integrating new

information that is encountered in the text with information that they have already

stored within their previously established mental representations.

In connection to the study, top-down stated that in order to comprehend;

the learners should use his/her background information to predict the meaning of

language they are going to listen to or read. In other words, those students

without prior knowledge or cannot relate to the information on a certain concept

they do not comprehend. Otherwise, those who can connect to their prior

knowledge can actually understand what they are reading. Thus, for the students

to comprehend they should relate it to their experiences which serves as their

prior knowledge.

Meanwhile, in the interactive view, the top-down and bottom-up aspects

are combined. Based on this view, reading comprehension requires the reader to

devote attention resources to the more basic features of the text while

simultaneously focusing on the more general aspects and actively interpreting

what is being read (Perfetti et al., 2005). Proficient readers are those who

successfully engage with multiple sources of information provided within the text

and information that is not readily available from the text (Kintsch, 1998; Perfetti

& Stafura, 2014; van Dijk & Kintsch, 1983). Good readers are able to recognize

and interact with key features of the text, such as lexical characteristics, at the

same time that they are more broadly identifying the purpose of a passage or a

paragraph (Rayner, 1986; Rayner et al., 2001).

In the study, this implied that for learners to comprehend they should both

have a good foundation of the words which is the basic features of the text and

have an interaction on what they are reading in general. Thus, learners should be

able to actively engage in text for them to understand it.

Moreover, the last theory employed in this study is the simple view of

reading. This theory asserts that reading comprehension is the product of

decoding ability and language comprehension (Gough &Tunmer, 1986; Hoover &

Gough, 1990). The simple view also has substantial empirical validation. For
example, decoding has emerged as a reliable predictor of reading

comprehension ability in a variety of instances (Kendeou et al., 2009).In fact,

poor decoding skills are associated with reading comprehension problems.

Additionally, oral language skills remain a robust and unique predictor of reading

comprehension over and above word reading skills (Nation & Snowling, 2004).

In connection to the study, reading comprehension requires both adequate

decoding and adequate oral language comprehension. Learners with good

decoding and good comprehension are adequate readers; otherwise, learners

with poor decoding and poor comprehension are garden-variety poor readers.

Thus, a mastery of both decoding and language comprehension is necessary for

reading proficiency.

Meanwhile, academic performance is pertained to the theory of Jean

Piaget's cognitive development. It suggests that intelligence changes as children

grow. A child's cognitive development is not just about acquiring knowledge, the

child has to develop or construct a mental model of the world. Cognitive

development occurs through the interaction of innate capacities and

environmental events, and children pass through a series of stages. Piaget's

theory of cognitive development proposes 4 stages of development:

Sensorimotor stage: birth to 2 years, Preoperational stage: 2 to 7 years, Concrete

operational stage: 7 to 11 years, and Formal operational stage: ages 12 and up.

Finally, as mentioned earlier, based on some recommended reading

comprehension strategies that can be utilized in improving the comprehension of

the learners are the use of graphic organizers, cooperative learning, story-
mapping, self-questioning and peer-assisted learning strategies, Also, the

National Reading Panel (2000) has highlighted six reading strategies that have

effectively improved students reading comprehension. These strategies involve

monitoring comprehension, using visual aids, answering questioning, generating

questions, understanding story structure, and summarizing. Even though there

are numerous reading comprehension strategies available for students to use,

they should be explicitly taught to them (Almutairi, 2018).

Definition of Terms

For the better understanding of the terms used in this study, the following

are defined conceptually and operationally:

Reading Comprehension. Conceptually, it refers to the process of

making meaning from text. The ultimate goal is to gain an overall understanding

of what the text described rather than to obtain meaning from isolated words or

sentences (Woolley, 2011). Operationally, it refers to the understanding of the

grade 8 learners in the text read.

Reading Comprehension Level. Conceptually, it refers to the level of

understanding of the learners when reading a text. These levels are

independent, instructional or frustration (Miñoza & Montero, 2019). Operationally,

it refers to the level of understanding of the grade 8 learners whether they are

under independent, instructional or frustration level.

Independent Level. This is the level at which pupil requires no formal or

regular assistance from the teacher. The pupil’s oral reading and comprehension
skills at this level are excellent. The criteria for reading selection should be 80%-

100%.

Instructional Level. This is the level for small group instruction or

individual work within the regular classroom. The teacher’s assistance is required

at this level. The criteria for reading selection should be 59%-79%.

Frustration Level. Reading the material at this level is much too difficult

for the pupil. The pupil is frustrated by either word recognition or comprehension,

or both. Where possible, the material at this level should be avoided. The criteria

for reading selection should be 58% below.

Academic Performance. Conceptually, refers to the extent to which a

student, teacher, or institution has attained their short or long-term educational

goals and is measured either by continuous assessment or cumulative grade

point average. Operationally, pertains to the performance grade of the grade 8

learners in the subjects they are taking.

Significance of the Study

The study will be deemed significant to the educators globally; this show

some findings and recommendation on the importance of reading

comprehension. This also gave the Department of Education personnel of some

ideas and insights on the problems regarding learning reading that can lead to

the crafting of some interventions to address the problems in reading

comprehension.
 Similarly, the study results provided useful insights to school

administrators and teachers to develop more reading intervention or materials

that can enhance understanding. Further, the output of this study significantly

benefits the learners as this would have apply to their learning processes to

improve their proficiency in reading. Finally, it will be a reference to other

researchers who wish to further study the same concepts of determining the

significant relationship between reading comprehension and academic

performance
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