Assessment of Reading Comprehension Skills of Primary Learners in Private and Public Schools: A Comparative Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18759050Keywords:
Reading comprehension, Grade 3 learners, private school, public school, quantitative-comparative design, literal comprehension, inferential comprehension, Barrett’s taxonomy, purposive sampling, short stories, questionnaires, rubrics, Mann-Whitney U test, educational resources, teaching methods, learning outcomesAbstract
The study aimed to investigate the reading comprehension skills of Grade 3 primary learners in both private and public schools, focusing on their literal and inferential comprehension abilities. Employing a quantitative-comparative research design, the study evaluated and compared the performance of 62 pupils, 29 from a private school and 33 from a public school, selected through purposive sampling to ensure relevant and useful data. Research instruments included short stories, questionnaires, and rubrics, with the comprehension measures developed using Barrett’s taxonomy and written at a level appropriate for Grade 3 learners. Data collection involved formal requests to school principals and the use of short stories aligned with the existing curriculum, reviewed and approved by teachers. The gathered data were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency count, percentage, mean, and standard deviation, while inferential statistics were conducted using the Mann-Whitney U test at a .05 level of significance. Findings revealed that private school learners demonstrated higher comprehension skills in both literal and inferential categories compared to public school learners, although both groups remained at an average level overall. This suggests that while both sets of learners possess basic literal comprehension skills, disparities exist in inferential comprehension, with private school learners benefitting from advanced teaching methods and richer learning resources. The results highlight the need for a review of instructional strategies and resource allocation in public schools to enhance reading comprehension outcomes and bridge the gap between private and public school learners.
Downloads
References
Admin, G. A. (2020, June 16). Most essential learning competencies (MELCs) – Complete files – Guro Ako. Guro Ako (All subjects 2023–2024). Teach Pinas.
Blair, R., et al. (1981). Comprehension taxonomy. Journal of Reading, 24(4), 242–246.
Britannica. (2021). Thorndike’s law of exercise. Encyclopedia Britannica.
Butterfuss, R., et al. (2020). Reading comprehension. Oxford University Press, 1–14. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED608839.pdf
Caraig, R., & Quimbo, M. (2016). Assessing reading comprehension difficulties in core science subjects of senior high school students in a private school in Calamba City, Philippines. International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction, 14(3), 1–24. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1364296.pdf
Department of Education. (2020, June 28). Complete K–12 MELCs by grade level (official copies) free download. DepEd Click. https://www.deped-click.com/2020/06/complete-k-12-melcs-by-grade-level.html
Duke, N. K., & Carlisle, J. (2011). The development of comprehension. In S. E. Israel & G. G. Duffy (Eds.), Handbook of research on reading comprehension (pp. 3–20). Guilford Press.
Dupuis, M., & Askov, E. (1982). Reading comprehension: A guide for teachers. Harper & Row.
Duzon, K., & Paragas, J. P. (2023). Reading gaps of Grade-3 learners in the public elementary schools. Psychology and Education: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 10(6), 658–673. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8132348
Eekhof, L. S., Van Krieken, K., Sanders, J., & Willems, R. M. (2021). Reading minds, reading stories: Social-cognitive abilities affect the linguistic processing of narrative viewpoint. Frontiers in Psychology, 12.
Elleman, A. M., & Oslund, E. L. (2019). Reading comprehension research: Implications for practice and policy. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 6(1), 3–11.
Fisher, C., & Peters, M. (1981). Reading skills for college students. Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Förster, N., Forthmann, B., Back, M. D., et al. (2023). Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on reading performance of second-grade children in Germany. Reading and Writing, 36, 289–315.
Frimasary, A. E., & Syahrial, S. (2018). Using short story to improve student’s reading comprehension. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literature, 2(1), 44–50. https://doi.org/10.33369/joall.v2i1.5868
Generator, M. (n.d.). View of using short stories to enhance students’ reading comprehension. https://jurnal.fkipuwgm.ac.id/index.php/Borju/article/view/632/341
Ginting, D. A. (2020, April 15). The effectiveness of short stories to improve students’ reading comprehension. https://jurnal.stkipalmaksum.ac.id/index.php/jellas/article/view/36
Habib, M. (2016). Assessment of reading comprehension. Revista Romaneasca pentru Educatie Multidimensionala, 8(1), 125–147.
Handayani, M. P. (2021). Using children short stories to enhance students’ reading comprehension. Academia.edu..
Idulog, M. V. A., et al. (2023). Filipino students’ reading abilities: A note on the challenges and potential areas for improvement. International Journal of Education and Teaching Zone, 2(2), 1–10. https://karya.brin.go.id/id/eprint/29768/1/2963-7899_2_2_2023-6.pdf
Jeni, Y. (2020). Using short stories to enhance students’ reading comprehension. Borneo Educational Journal (Borju), 2(2), 83–88. https://doi.org/10.24903/bej.v2i2.632
Khatib, M., & Nasrollahi, A. (2012). Enhancing reading comprehension through short stories. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 2(2).
Lake, R., & Dusseault, B. (2020, April 3). School systems make a slow transition from the classroom to the cloud. Center for Reinventing Public Education. https://www.crpe.org/thelens/school-systems-make-slow-transition-classroom-cloud
Lee, J., & Tan, S. (2019). Addressing the need to identify reading comprehension skill gaps post-pandemic: A study on student learning outcomes. Philippine Educational Research Journal, 15(2), 45–58.
Magno, C. (2022). Planning for the learning recovery: The Philippine experience. CLAD-Asia Bulletin, 4, 1–6.
Mariecarrier. (2023). The impact of reading comprehension on learning. Eastern Washington University.
Moneba, A.-J. N., & Lovitos, A. H. R. (2024). Reading attitude and learning motivation as predictors of reading comprehension. Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies, 50(4), 185–199. https://journalajess.com/index.php/AJESS/article/view/1322/2573
MSEd, K. C. (2023). Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/gardners-theory-of-multiple-intelligences-2795161
Pagcabigan, C. (2021). Effectiveness of reading comprehension strategies in the performance of Grade VI pupils in English. International Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Studies, 1–8. https://www.ijams-bbp.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/IJAMS-December-25-researches-1-9.pdf
Pearson, L., & Johnson, M. (2018). The importance of reading assessment for elementary learners. Journal of Educational Research, 45(3), 112–125.
Pinas, T. (2023). DepEd MELC: K–12 most essential learning competencies (All subjects 2023–2024). Teach Pinas.
Read, C. (2022, April 13). Using storytelling to extend children’s learning. Cambridge English.
Sainsbury, M., & Schagen, I. (2004). Attitudes to reading at ages nine and eleven. Journal of Research in Reading, 27(4), 373–386.
The Animated Reading Rope – AIM Pathways. (n.d.).
Vacca, R. (2005). Reading and learning to read. Longman-Pearson.
Weitzman, C. (2023, January 30). How to teach the Scarborough rope model for reading. Speechify.
Wierschem, J. (2023). Scarborough’s reading rope: A groundbreaking infographic. International Dyslexia Association.
Widyanata, A. (2005). Reading comprehension in English for EFL learners. Gramedia Pustaka Utama.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
