Voice of the Learners’ Analysis and Its Relation to the Reading Performance of Frustration Readers in Sampaloc National High School, Tanay, Rizal

Abstract

This descriptive study examined the voice of Grade 7 frustration readers and its relationship to their reading performance at Sampaloc National High School, Tanay, Rizal. Total enumeration was used to include all 70 learners identified as frustration readers through the Philippine Informal Learners Reading Assessment during School Year 2014–2015. A researcher-made questionnaire-checklist gathered learners’ perceptions of the effectiveness of reading materials, reading activities, and teachers’ reading strategies. Frequency counts, percentages, weighted means, tests of difference, and correlation analysis were used. Most respondents were 12 years old (70.0%), male (68.6%), eldest siblings (42.9%), from families earning PHP 5,000–9,000 monthly (78.6%), and had parents with high school-level education (61.4%). Learners rated reading materials (M = 2.66), reading activities (M = 3.15), and teachers’ reading strategies (M = 3.29) as moderately effective. Significant differences were found in perceptions of teachers’ reading strategies when grouped by age (p = .011), reading materials when grouped by sex (p = .044), and reading materials when grouped by parents’ educational attainment (p = .047). All respondents remained at the frustration reading level, with most scoring only two or three out of seven comprehension items. Learners’ perceptions of reading materials, activities, and strategies were not significantly related to reading performance. The findings support the use of learner-responsive, leveled, visually supported, cooperative, and engaging reading interventions.