Investigating the Reasons and Impacts of Having Low Reading

Comprehension on the Academic Performance of Selected Grade 10

Students in Dasmariñas Integrated High School.

CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

A. Introduction
Reading comprehension is the ability to read text, process it, and understand its meaning. The goal is to
gain information from what the writer conveyed through a text and use it to enrich one’s experiences and
improve intellectual ability, making it a very important skill in our daily lives. Because of this, many problems
could arise when a person finds it difficult to comprehend what they have read.

Low reading comprehension is what defines this problem. It is (i)the difficulty in understanding the
meaning of a text read, (ii)confusion within words and letters, and (iii)trouble answering questions based on
the text read.

These problems can heavily impact a learner’s performance, as being unable to comprehend a text
means that learners would not understand what they have read. Students with low reading comprehension
will find it hard to infer from what they read, leaving them to perform poorly in school.

The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) results conducted by the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2018 showed that 15-year-old students performed
worse in reading, mathematics, and science when compared to other countries that also participated in PISA
2018. The Philippines scored an average of 340 points in reading, placing last amongst the countries that
participated.; the Philippines also scored 353 and 357 points in mathematics and science, respectively,
placing second in both assessments. The research also showed that more than 80% of students in the
Philippines still needed to achieve a basic level of competence. This makes the country one of the most
significant shares among the other participants of PISA.

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REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

How having a low reading comprehension affects the performance of students in science
and mathematics.

According to the 2009 United Nations Development (UNDP) report, the Philippines had a higher literacy
rate of 93.4%. Over the past nine decades, Filipino students have consistently performed poorly in math and
science, with the Philippines remaining at the bottom in the 1984 and 1994 International Assessments.
Furthermore, a lack of proficiency in science and mathematics is evidenced by the 2003 to 2009 results from
the National Achievement Test. Poor reading comprehension was singled out by the DOST and DepEd
Science Education Institute as a significant contributor to the pupils' dismal performance in the National
Achievement Test (NAT). (Imam, 2016.)

Factors Affecting the Reading Comprehension of Grade Six Pupils in the City Division of
Sorsogon, Philippines as Basis for the Development of Instructional Material

According to the survey conducted in the journal above, 1444 out of 2503 students were on the frustration
level of comprehension in silent reading, 750 were on the instructional level, and the remaining 302 were
classified as independent readers. In oral reading, 1789 out of 2503 fell on the frustration reading, 594 were
instructional readers, and the last 120 were independent readers.

The journal stated that reading is often taken for granted due to the fast-evolving world and changing
technology. Former DepEd Sec. Abad deplored the poor performance of the pupils' assessment test and
said that "the low scores in English, Mathematics, and Science can be attributed to the pupils' lack of ability
in basic reading and comprehension." (Estremera M., Estremera G., July 2018)

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SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY:
This study aims to add valuable information and additional knowledge about the given topic and will
greatly benefit the following:

TEACHERS
Due to this research, teachers will now know the factors that can affect their students' reading
comprehension. Therefore, educators can create materials or teach techniques that can improve their
students' reading comprehension.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
The findings can help them to determine the cause of low reading comprehension, address these
causes and improve the overall reading comprehension of learners nationwide.

SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION
The study can serve as feedback to the school and can help to improve the reading comprehension of
the students enrolled in their school.

FUTURE RESEARCHERS
They would be able to use these studies as a basis and a credible source for future research related to
their topic.

B. Statement of the Problem

Leaning back to 2019, or before the pandemic happened, 69.5 percent were cited with poor reading skills,
said the World Bank. The lockdown's Impact on students had a great downfall regarding reading
comprehension. The problems encountered by the students of Dasmarinas Integrated High were quite
unclear, for students are also expected to perform academically while facing the challenge of achieving
English language proficiency. The lack of proper investment in those who are, essentially, the nation's future
has led to serious underperformance and the inability to compete with their peers. Attempts have been
made, yet the road to improvement is difficult for both teachers and students in the public educational
system.

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 The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's PISA is a global assessment that
assesses pupils' reading, math, and science knowledge. Among 79 participating countries and economies,
the Philippines scored the lowest in reading comprehension in 2018, as seen by PISA. Learners’ reading
skill was greatly affected when the school closed due to the events that happened during the pandemic.

Addressing the outcomes of its negative effects on students at Dasmarinas Integrated High is becoming
an area of increasing concern to researchers. Assuming this problem continues to rise, our country would
remain the lowest ranked of all, and the room for improvement would be futile. Considering the quick fix by
the former president, Rodrigo Duterte, "Libraries are deserved to be everywhere they go, and every place
they visit," Low reading comprehension in every area would swiftly fade away.

This study aims to determine the challenges Dasmarinas Integrated High School students face with
reading comprehension. Dozens of problems are encountered, and their opinions matter. As per our
observation, to solve their difficulty, they also require much time to read the content. Another issue pupils
have is needing help understanding reading assignments that are too challenging. The pupils' unfamiliarity
with the reading content and the text's grammatical intricacy contribute to their failure to grasp it properly.
When reading a manuscript, avoid sentences that are overly long or complex. In connection with these
issues, kids see unfamiliar words and lengthy texts as significant barriers to understanding reading material.

Objectives or Aims of the Study

1. Would teenagers who struggle with reading have an impact on academic, emotional, and
social issues?

2. What major factors affect the low reading comprehension of the students?

3. What solution do we provide to this problem?

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C. Theoretical Support

The main finding is that text organization and test format had a significant impact on the students’

performance. When texts were structured, the more proficient students achieved better results in summary

writing and open-ended questions. By contrast, the structure of the text made little difference to the

performance of the less proficient students. This suggests that well-structured texts make it easier to

differentiate between students with different levels of proficiency (Kobayashi, 2002).

Comprehending a written text requires the reader to identify the words used in the text, combine single-

word meanings into propositions, and subsequently create a coherent and adequate model of the text.

Together with relevant background knowledge, a shallow textbase can be enhanced into a more in-depth

situation model which depicts the situation described in the text. Several factors have proven to have an

impact on how well a reader understands a text, such as word identification abilities, language

comprehension abilities, the use of reading comprehension strategies, and reading motivation. (Bruggink et

al., 2022)

Reading comprehension is a crucial skill in modern-day society. Readers lacking comprehension skills

face challenges in everyday life, from understanding a medicine’s package insert to dealing with online

information and acquiring new knowledge. (Bruggink et al., 2022)

According to schema theory, comprehending a text is an interactive process between the reader’s

background knowledge and the text. Efficient comprehension requires being able to relate the textual

material to one's knowledge. (Seymour, 2022)

The fundamental principle of the schema theory assumes that written text does not carry meaning by

itself. Rather, a text-only provides directions for readers as to how they should retrieve or construct meaning

from their own previously acquired knowledge (An, 2013).

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References:

A. Imam, O. (2016). Effects of reading skills on students’ performance in science and mathematics in public

and private secondary schools. Journal of Education and Learning (EduLearn), 10(2), 177–186.

https://doi.org/10.11591/edulearn.v10i2.3430

Bruggink, M., Swart, N., Lee, A. van der, & Segers, E. (1970, January 1). Theories of reading

comprehension. SpringerLink. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-95266-2_1

Clements, J., Brennan, J., & Cain, K. (2010). Background questions TC. Background Questions TC.

https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/teaching-comprehension/background-questions-tc

CNN Philippines. (2020, April 21). What’s to blame for the low reading comprehension of the Filipino youth?

cnnphilippines. http://www.cnnphilippines.com/life/culture/2020/4/21/reading-comprehension-problem.html

Estremera, M. L., & Estremera, G. L. (2018b, July). (PDF) factors affecting the reading comprehension

of grade six pupils ... www.researchgate.net.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/361431957_Factors_Affecting_the_Reading_Comprehension_of_

Grade_Six_Pupils_in_the_City_Division_of_Sorsogon_Philippines_as_Basis_for_the_Development_of_Instr

uctional_Material

Imam, O. A., Mastura, M. A., Jamil, H., & Ismail, Z. (2014). READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS

AND PERFORMANCE IN SCIENCE AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN THE PHILIPPINES.

http://apjee.usm.my/APJEE_29_2014/Art%205(81-94).pdf

Juan, R. S. (2019, December 3). Philippines lowest in reading comprehension among 79 countries.

Philstar.com. https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/12/03/1974002/philippines-lowest-reading-

comprehension-among-79-countries

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Leipzig, D. H. (January, 2001). What is reading? WETA

Ludewig, U., Kleinkorres, R., Schaufelberger, R., Schlitter, T., Lorenz, R., König, C., Frey, A., &

McElvany, N. (2022, April 1). Covid-19 pandemic and student reading achievement: Findings from a School

Panel Study. Frontiers. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.876485/full

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Read. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved May 25, 2023, from

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/read

School, G. O. N. H. (2016, November 2). Effects of reading difficulties on academic performance.

Academia.edu.

https://www.academia.edu/29633107/EFFECTS_OF_READING_DIFFICULTIES_ON_ACADEMIC_PERFO

RMANCE

Seymour, K. (2022, March 9). Schema theory and reading comprehension - wehavekids. We Have Kids.

https://wehavekids.com/education/Reading-Comprehension-Theory

Vera, B. O. de. (2022, April 1). Lockdown’s impact: UNICEF cites poor reading skills among PH kids.

INQUIRER.net. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1576573/lockdowns-impact-unicef-cites-poor-reading-skills-

among-ph-kids

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CHAPTER II

METHODOLOGY

A. Research Design

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B. Population and Sampling

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C. Participants of the Study

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D. Data Gathering Procedure

E. Analysis of Data

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