IMPROVING THE READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS AND ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE OF GRADE 10 LEARNERS THROUGH

REGULAR REMEDIAL READING PROGRAM

Juan A. Dela Cruz, MAEd

Teacher I
Jose Rizal National High Shcool
juan.delacruz@gmail.com

Abstract

This action research was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of

the regular reading remedial program towards improving the reading
comprehension skills and academic performance of the Grade 10 learners in
Jose Rizal National High School based on the Phil-IRI Pre-Assessment
results and their academic performance for the 1st quarter of school year
2023-2024. Also, it evaluated whether there is a significant difference of the
comprehension skills and academic performance of the Grade 10 learners
before and after the intervention program. It likewise ascertained the
experiences of the participants on the regular reading remedial program as
well as the challenges met by the reading teachers in the implementation of
the regular reading remedial program. Results revealed that there were 54
learners who were classified as instructional leaders having only 59%-79%
percentage of comprehension while 25 were categorized as frustration level
readers having only 58% and below percentage of comprehension. It was
also found out that 57 Grade 10 learners got the grades of only 75-79 while
45 got the grades of 80-84. After the implementation of the intervention
program, the number of independent level readers was increased by 62 (34%)
from 119 to 181 while instructional leaders were decreased by 42 (78%) from
54 to 12 and decreased the frustration level readers from by 20 (80) from 25
to 5. The intervention program implemented draw positive feedback from the
participants being helpful tool that improved reading and comprehension.
Lastly, reading teachers believed that the implementation of the intervention
program was never easy due to overlapping activities in school and the busy
schedule of the reading teachers and that they needed to allot time regularly
to effect improvement of the reading and comprehension skills of the identified
Grade 10 learners.

Key Words: reading skills, comprehension skills, academic performance,

reading program, action research

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 CONTEXT AND RATIONALE

Reading is a process of extracting meaning from written or printed text.

It is an activity performed to develop an understanding of a subject or topic. It

involves the interpretation of symbols, letters, or words to comprehend the

intended message or information conveyed by the author. According to

McKee (2012) reading is an essential skill that individuals need to process to

be successful in life. He further added that reading keeps individuals

informed, up-to-date, and thinking. Similarly, Essberger (2023) propounded

that reading is the process of looking at a series of written symbols and

getting meaning from them. Leipzig (2023) also pointed out that reading is a

complex process involving word recognition, comprehension, fluency, and

motivation. He added that reading, in its fullest sense, involves weaving

together word recognition and comprehension in a fluent manner.

In an educational context, reading goes beyond the simple act of

recognizing and pronouncing words. It includes the ability to understand

written text, make connections between ideas, and derive meaning from the

content. Reading is a multifaceted process, drawing on a variety of cognitive

and linguistic skills, with primary focus on comprehension. In this context,

reading comprehension skills are extremely important. While reading is a very

important part of an individual’s personal and educational growth, it is the

concept of comprehension that may be even more important. Reading in and

of itself is not enough since an individual needs to be able to breakdown, to

analyze, and to re-organize ideas and information. A person needs the ability

to understand what the writer is attempting to communicate. Melvin (2022)

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defined reading comprehension as the reader’s ability to understand the

explicit and implicit meaning of a text, or piece of writing. Likewise, Goddiess

(2023) underscored that reading comprehension is the ability to process what

is being read, understand the meaning the author is trying to convey — both

textually and subtextually and make inferences based on prior knowledge. It

demonstrates one’s ability to understand, interpret, analyze, and infer written

information. Brandon (2021) emphasized that reading comprehension refers

to the ability to understand written words and it is different from the ability to

recognize words. He added that recognizing words on a page but not knowing

what they mean does not fulfill the purpose or goal of reading which is

comprehension.

Despite a long-standing awareness of reading comprehension as an

integral component of the learning process, it remains a critical concern for

the schools in Philippine education (Deluao, et. al., 2022). The Program for

International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 results revealed that the

Philippines scored the lowest in reading comprehension with a mean score of

340 points far below the survey average of 487 points (Conoza, 2022). It was

also found out that over 80% of students in the Philippines did not reach a

minimum level of proficiency in reading, which is one of the largest shares of

low performers among all PISA-participating countries and economies. It

further revealed that many middle school students have difficulty

understanding and evaluating written materials and that a significant number

of students have reading comprehension difficulties which in turn, affects their

academic performance.

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 Like any other learning institution, the Jose Rizal National High School

has also recorded some learners who have reading comprehension difficulty.

The Phil-IRI Pre-Assessment for School Year 2023-2024 results revealed that

at least 40% of the Grade 10 learners have poor reading comprehension

skills. Addressing this concern and improving the reading comprehension

skills of these learners must be one of the priorities not only by the English or

reading teachers but all teachers in the school. Johnson, et. al. (2021)

highlighted the importance of these skills and the important role they play in

student outcomes. Also, students with good reading comprehension skills

tend to do better in a variety of subjects because they can grasp, apply, and

evaluate their knowledge effectively.

The issue of reading comprehension in schools is common and is

undeniably a pressing concern that needs to be resolved. It has been a critical

concern for schools because reading comprehension appears to be a unique

problem that remains unresolved despite the efforts of the English and

reading teachers to improve the reading status of the students. Thus, to help

address the problem in terms of the reading comprehension skills among

learners, the researchers of this study have decided to innovate and

implement the regular reading remedial program. The purpose of

implementing such was to improve the reading comprehension skills of the

Grade 10 students who have been found to have a poor reading

comprehension skill and to improve their academic performance across

learning areas.

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 INNOVATION, INTERVENTION, STRATEGY

Innovation & Intervention

The Regular Reading Remedial Program was implemented as an

intervention program that aimed to improve the reading comprehension skills

of the identified Grade 10 learners who have been found to have poor reading

comprehension skills. The proponents believed that through consistent

remediation activities in reading, these students would eventually improve

their reading comprehension skills and in turn, improve their academic

performance across learning areas.

Strategy

This intervention project has been materialized through the

participation of the English teachers, Phil-IRI coordinator, or non-English

majors. A regular schedule from Monday to Friday at 4:00 to 5:00 in the

afternoon was allotted for the reading remedial program for the identified

Grade 10 students. This intervention project was implemented in the form of a

contest and the proponents provided rewards and incentives to those who

had shown improvements in their reading comprehension skills. School

Governing Council (SGC) and School Parent-Teacher Association (SPTA)

also supported this intervention project by acting as sponsors for the prizes

and incentives. By this, the students were more motivated to participate in the

intervention project.

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Preparation and Validation of the Intervention Materials

The proponents prepared the intervention materials with the assistance

of the English teachers and Phil-IRI Coordinator. Documentation was strictly

done before, during, and after the preparation and validation of the

intervention materials. The proponent asked assistance from language

experts from the school and a university to validate the intervention or reading

materials before the project implementation.

Duration of the Intervention

This Regular Reading Remedial Program was implemented within

one grading period from September to November. Before the implementation

of this intervention program, a Phil-IRI Pre-Assessment was administered to

all Grade 10 learners to assess their reading comprehension skills. After

which, a final list of the respondents was prepared by the English teachers

and Phil-IRI Coordinator.

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 ACTION RESEARCH QUESTIONS

This action research was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of

the regular reading remedial program towards improving the reading

comprehension skills and academic performance of the Grade 10 learners in

Jose Rizal National High School for School Year 2023-2024.

Specifically, this action research sought to answer the following

questions:

1. What is the level of the reading comprehension skills of the Grade 10

learners based on the Phil-IRI Pre-Assessment results?

2. What is the academic performance of the Grade 10 learners for the 1 st

quarter of School Year 2023-2024?

3. Is there a significant difference in the level of the reading comprehension

skills and academic performance of the Grade 10 learners before and after

the implementation of the regular reading remedial program?

4. What are the experiences of the Grade 10 learners on the regular reading

remedial program?

5. What are the challenges met by the reading teachers in the

implementation of the regular reading remedial program?

7
 ACTION RESEARCH METHODS

a. Participants and/or other Sources of Data and Information

The respondents of this study were the 79 Grade 10 learners in

Jose Rizal National High School who are enrolled this School Year 2023-

2024 and identified to have poor reading comprehension skills and low

academic performance for the 1st quarter of the same school year. English

teachers or reading teachers were the ones who provided the data on the

learners who were included as respondents of this study.

b. Data Gathering Methods

The researchers coordinated with the English teachers and Phil-

IRI Coordinator and conducted the Phil-IRI Pre-Assessment to evaluate

the reading comprehension skills of the Grade 10 learners during first

quarter of school year 2023-2024. This was one initial step to identify the

respondents involved in this study. The researchers also strictly

monitored the attendance as well as the progress of the learners using a

researcher-made monitoring tool. After the implementation, a Phil-IRI

Post-Assessment was conducted to evaluate the level of the reading

comprehension skills of the identified Grade 10 learners and their

academic performance across learning areas to assess the effectiveness

of the reading intervention program applied.

On the other hand, the proponent used an interview guide in

gathering the data about the experiences of the learners on the regular

reading remedial program and the challenges met by the teachers during

the implementation of the said project. An informed consent was secured

8
before the data gathering signed by the respondents and the

parents/guardians. Each interview was audio-recorded using a voice

recorder to capture the responses of the respondents. Bracketing was

employed throughout the process to set aside personal feelings and to

avoid bias. All interviews and transcripts were recorded in native

language and were translated later with the assistance of the language

experts. All audio-recordings were transcribed verbatim by the

researcher. The data collection continued until the data saturation was

achieved as evidenced by redundant responses.

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 DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS AND REFLECTION

Table 1. Level of the Reading Comprehension Skills of the Grade 10

Learners based on the Phil-IRI Pre-Assessment

% of
Level Frequency (f)
Comprehension
Independent 80%-100% 119
Instructional 59%-79% 54
Frustration 58% and below 25
TOTAL 198

Table 1 above shows the level of reading comprehension skills of the

Grade 10 learners based on the Phil-IRI Pre-Assessment. As shown on the

table, majority or 119 (60%) of the Grade 10 learners are classified as

independent readers. These learners have 80% to 100% percentage of

comprehension. Independent readers are individuals who possess the skills

and confidence to read and comprehend the text without significant

assistance. These readers dan decode words, understand sentence

structures, and extract meaning from written material autonomously.

On the other hand, 54 (27%) of them are classified as instructional

readers. These learners have 59% to 79% percentage of comprehension. It is

in this level at which the learners can profit from instruction and reading is

rhythmical with conversational tone and correct interpretation.

Lastly, 25 (13%) of the learners are found to be in the frustration level.

This is the lowest reading level where students show withdrawal from reading

situations. The learners commit errors in reading such as reversal, repetition,

substitution, insertion, mispronunciation, among others and having a

percentage of comprehension of 58% and below.

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 Having poor reading comprehension skills, the identified learners

struggled to understand and interpret the written text. They were challenged in

grasping main ideas, making inferences, connecting information within a

reading selection or text. The students also exhibited slow reading speed,

difficulty in recalling details and facts, and much more in applying critical

thinking to the material they read.

Table 2. Academic Performance of the Grade 10 learners for the First

Quarter of School Year 2023-2024

Average Grade of the Grade 10 Frequency (f)

Learners across Learning Areas
98-100 1
95-97 12
90-94 25
85-89 58
80-84 45
75-79 57
Below 75 0

The table above pertains to the academic performance of the Grade 10

learners for the first quarter of school year 2023-2024 across learning areas.

As reflected on the table, only 1 got the grade of 98-100; 12 students got 95-

97; 25 students got 90-94; 58 of them got 85-89; 45 of the students got 80-84

while 57 of them got 75-79. It can be gleaned from the table above that many

learners got the grades of 75-79 which may be associated to poor reading

comprehension skills of the learners.

Table 3. Reading Comprehension Skills of the Learners after the

Implementation of the Regular Reading Remedial Program

% of
Level Frequency (f)
Comprehension
Independent 80%-100% 181
Instructional 59%-79% 12
Frustration 58% and below 5
TOTAL 198

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 Table 3 shows the reading comprehension skills of the learners after

the implementation of the regular reading remedial program. As shown on the

table, majority or 181 (91%) of the Grade 10 learners are classified as

independent readers and with 80%-100% percentage of comprehension, 12

(6%) of them are under instructional level with 59%-79% percentage of

comprehension while only 5 (3%) of the Grade 10 learners are classified as

frustration level readers with 58% and below percentage of comprehension.

Table 4. Comparative Data on the Reading Comprehension Skills of the

Learners Before and After the Implementation of the Regular
Reading Remedial Program

% of Frequency (f)
Level
Comprehension Before After
Independen
80%-100% 119 181
t
Instructional 59%-79% 54 12
Frustration 58% and below 25 5
TOTAL 198 198

Mean Standard Degree of t Value p Value

Deviation Freedom
66.00 48.14
2 0 0.5
66.00 99.65

Table 4 shows the comparative data on the reading comprehension

skills of the learners before and after the implementation of the regular

reading remedial program. As projected in the table, before the

implementation of the intervention program, there were 119 independent

readers, and was increased to 181 after the implementation of the reading

intervention program. For the instructional level, there were 54 learners which

was decreased to 12 after the implementation of the intervention program

while for the frustration level readers, there were 25 and was decreased to 5

after the implementation of the intervention program. However, when checked

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whether or not there is a significant difference in the level of comprehension

skills of the Grade 10 learners before and after the intervention program, the t-

value is 0 and the p-value is 0.5 which means that the result is not significant

at p <0.05. This further means that there is not enough evidence to conclude

that the said intervention program has really improved the comprehension

skills of the Grade 10 learners who were involved in the intervention program.

As to participants’ feedback, the Grade 10 learners who were involved

in the intervention program were grateful to the English teachers and

proponents of the project because they were able to improve both their

reading and comprehension skills. According to them, their confidence in

reading was also improved which in turn could also boost their performance in

other learning areas during classroom instruction. They were also motivated

to report in every remedial reading session because the teacher-facilitators

were very accommodating and approachable.

“I am thankful to the English teachers who taught and guided us in the

remedial reading sessions that we had”. -Participant 003

“Because of the reading intervention program, I have improved my

reading and comprehension skills. Thanks to my teachers who sacrificed a lot

just to help us improve our reading and comprehension skills”.

-Participant 005

“For me, one of the important things that happened to me because of

the intervention program is that I have gained confidence in myself and I can

surely use this in improving my academic performance in other subjects”.

-Participant 008

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 “One thing that made us motivated to attend the remedial reading

program is that our teacher was very accommodating and approachable. We

do not hesitate to ask her if there are things that we need to clarify”.

-Participant

Lastly, the reading teachers who implemented the intervention program

believed that the implementation of the same was necessary to improve the

poor reading and comprehension skills among the Grade 10 learners.

However, the implementation of the intervention materials was never easy

due to overlapping activities in school and the busy schedule of the reading

teachers. The proponent needed to allot time regularly to effect improvement

of the reading and comprehension skills of the identified Grade 10 learners.

Aside from that, some of the learners were in a hurry to go home in the

afternoon instead of attending the regular reading remedial program. Thus,

consistent coordination with the parents and guardians of the learners was

pivotal in the implementation of the intervention program.

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 ACTION PLAN

ACTIVITIES/ PERSON/S TIME AMOUNT MOVs

STRATEGIES INVOLVED FRAME NEEDED/
RESOURCES
Pre-Implementation Phase
Finalization of the Researcher November ₱ 250.00 Complete
full-blown Action 2023 Action
Research Output Research
Output
Implementation Phase
Conduct an Researcher, January ₱5,000.00 Activity
Advocacy Teachers, 2024 Completion
Program and Parents, Report (ACR)
information- Learners, and
dissemination of other
the results of the stakeholders
Action Research
Activity
Post Implementation Phase
Submit a copy to Researcher/s, January ₱ 500.00 Certificate of
the division office School Head 2024 Acceptance
for
recommendation/s
Possible Researcher/s, February ₱ 2,000.00 Similar study
replication of the Teachers, 2024 and
study in the School Heads intervention
municipality programs in
the
municipality
or district.
Presentations in Researcher/s February ₱ 5,000.00 Research
the conferences School Head 2024 Output
and research fora onwards
Publish in Researcher/s March 2024 ₱ 5,000.00 Published
research School Head Research
journal/publication Output

15
 REFERENCES

Brandon, D. (2021). Retrieved October 12, 2023, from Extension:

https://www.aces.edu/blog/topics/home-family-urban/the-importance-of-

reading-comprehension/

Chryzl Joy Deluao, Desiree Joy E. Bernal, Jally Be F. Padillo, Rex A. Lim.

(2022). IMPROVING THE READING COMPREHENSION OF GRADE

8 LEARNERS USING 4RS (READ, RETELL, REACT, REFLECT)

STRATEGY. International Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social

Studies (IJHAS). Retrieved October 12, 2023, from

https://airccse.com/ijhas/papers/7222ijhas05.pdf

Conoza, A. P. (2022). Retrieved October 12, 2023, from Business World:

https://www.bworldonline.com/special-features/2022/09/05/474223/add

ressing-the-philippines-learning-crisis/

Essberger, J. (2023). English Club. Retrieved October 10, 2023, from

https://www.englishclub.com/reading/what.php

Goddiess, S. (2023, October 12). Retrieved 2023, from Zippia:

https://www.zippia.com/advice/reading-comprehension/

Leipzig, D. H. (2023). Reading Rockets. Retrieved October 10, 2023, from

https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/about-reading/articles/what-

reading

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McKee, S. (2012). Reading Comprehension, What We Know: A Review of

Research 1995 to 2011 . Language Testing in Asia . Retrieved October

12, 2023, from https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/2229-

0443-2-1-45.pdf

Melvin, M. (2022). Prodigy. Retrieved October 11, 2023, from

https://www.prodigygame.com/main-en/blog/improve-reading-

comprehension/

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 FINANCIAL REPORT

ITEM DESCRIPTION QUANTITY UNIT UNIT AMOUNT

COST
Bond Paper (A4, S-20) 2 ream 200.00 400.00
Ink, Epson L360 1 set 1,200.00 1,200.00
Folders 5 piece 10.00 50.00
Travelling Expenses 1 head (5 times) 1,000.00 5,000.00
Printing 1,000.00 1,000.00
Miscellaneous 2,000.00 2,000.00
TOTAL ₱9,650.00

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