In the Philippines, a study conducted by Cabasan (2011) revealed that of the 33 students, only two

college students (6%) were categorized in the independent level, 11 college students (33%) were in the
instructional and 20 college students (61%) were in the frustration level. Only two college students then
could read with thorough understanding of the materials presented to them without assistance.
Moreover, more than half of the students are in the frustration level or known as the struggling readers.

Local lit___reading comprehension

In the United States of America, it was recorded by the International Assessment of the Adult
Competencies Literary Scale (2012) that adults achieved an average literacy proficiency score of 270 on
a scale of 0 to 500 or three points below the international average score of 273. These results Indicate a
need to examine current practices in reading comprehension instruction since it is so complex and
requires multiple cognitive skills and stored memory.

Foreign lit __reading comprehension

Poor reading comprehension is cited as a fundamental feature of academic underperformance in South

Africa (Pretorius, 2002;Granville, 2001; Dreyer, 1998). According to Nel, Dreyer and Kopper (2004),
Many South African students enter higher education underprepared for the reading demands that are
placed upon them. The findings further revealed that students experience problems across all aspects of
the reading process especially in reading comprehension and reading strategy used. Yet, there is little
evidence to suggest that learners at any level will acquire the reading skills and strategies that can
improve their reading comprehension if they have not been taught (Tannenbaum, Torgesen & Wagner,
2006).

Foreign lit__ reading comprehension

In the Philippines, policies supportive of the contention that reading is an essential skill to develop in
children were provided. One example is the No Read, No Pass Policy Stipulated in National Capital
Region (NCR) DepEd Memorandum order number 67, series of 2014. This stringent measure stipulates
that because reading is a learning tool promoting students, with reading skill falls short of their Grade
level, it does more harm than good to students. Assessment of the reading skills among grade 1 students
is conducted before they are promoted to grade 2. Should students perform poorly and not meet the set
proficiency, the learner is retained in his/her previous grade. However, criticism exists that despite this
policy many students who are reaching high school remain to know not how to read or are struggling
readers.

Local literature_english compre