EFFECTS OF POOR READING COMPREHENSION TO GRADE 7

STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

A Research Paper

Presented to Mary Jane D. Cabiluna

A Faculty of the English Department of

Don Vicente Rama Memorial National High School

Macopa Street, Basak Pardo, Cebu City

Presented by

Michael Angelou A. Castro

Crystal Mae Q. Abella

Kristela Cassandra Miranda

Grade 10- Alpha

S.Y. 2023-2024
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Rationale

As Alex, a first-year high school student, entered the world of academics, it has been

quite challenging for him. Despite having a genuine desire for learning, Alex struggles with

poor reading comprehension skills. The journey from middle school to high school has

brought complex texts and challenging subject matter. Figuring out complex texts, it is

difficult for him to understand important ideas. This struggle not only hinders academic

progress but also impacts performance in class discussions and assignments. For Alex, his

first year of high school presents a big challenge managing academic performance by getting

through the challenge of poor reading comprehension.

On a survey conducted by Ricket, et. al (2015) about Students Facing Academic

Problems, studies show that almost 80 percent of children with learning disabilities have their

educational problem in the area of reading. The reading problems of all these students have a

substantial impact on their ability to master other subjects in school. Poor reading

comprehension appears to affect performance in all other academic subjects as well as the

students’ class participation. (Feagons, 2017; Hallahan, Kauffman & Lloyd, 2015)

In December 2019, Malacañang said that the "poor reading comprehension of Filipino

students is a reality". In a 2018 global survey called Program International Assessment

(PISA), among 600,000 students worldwide, a Filipino student around the age of 15 got a

rating of 340 points in reading comprehension, lower than the average of 487 points.

Consequently, in the said study, the Philippines ranked last among 79 countries. According to

an article titled, "Filipino Students' Reading Abilities: A Note on the Challenges and Potential
Areas for Improvement", the researchers stated that students experience difficulties in reading

comprehension because their focus and attention are destructed by cellphones and social

media. They spend more time using cellphones rather than reading. (Idulog, et. al, 2023)

In Cebu City, at least 76 percent of students still have a low reading comprehension.

DepEd Central Visayas says that building the reading comprehension of learners was a big

challenge during the pandemic lockdown. About 5,000 first year students began their first

day inside Guadalupe National High school in Cebu City with reading exercises, after two

years of the nationwide lockdown. In the article entitled, "Binisaya Instruction: Facing the

MTB-MLE challenges Head-on”, Eslit (2017) cited that minority language students gained

literacy in their first language experienced with higher academic achievement compared to

students who learned in a second or third language. The article further supports the learning

of first language as the key to the acquisition of second and third languages. A need for good

foundation in the first language is essential to establish a good step in learning a second or

even third language. This can be interrelated with reading comprehension, since reading

requires a strong foundation of the language that is necessary for comprehension.

The main purpose of this study is to determine the effects of Poor Reading

comprehension to Grade 7 Students. With this in mind, it will help them enhance their

academic performance, thinking skills, overall cognitive development and will positively

impact their confidence and motivation, laying a foundation for lifelong learning.
 Theoretical and / or Conceptual Framework

Poor Reading Comprehension

Schema Theory

Schema-stored knowledge
in the mind

Types of Schemas

Person Social Self Event

Specific individuals Behavior in social situation Knowledge of oneself Behavior in certain events

Process in Schema
Change

Assimilation Accommodation
Incorporating new information with pre-existing Changing forming new schemas due to
schemas experiences

Resistant to change.

Effects
Poor academic performance
Low self-esteem
Low critical thinking skills
Weak communication skills
Limited vocabulary development

Figure 1: Schema Theory by Frederic Bartlett (1932)

 This study is anchored on the theory entitled, "Schema Theory" promulgated by

Frederic Bartlett (1932). According to this theory, a person's mind has schemas, which are the

storage for one's knowledge. Schemas fall into four types, namely, Person Schemas, Social

Schemas, Self-Schemas, Event Schemas. All of these contribute in the process of schema

change. The theory explains the two schema changes: Assimilation and Accommodation. In

Assimilation, new information is incorporated into pre-existing schemas while in

accommodation, existing schemas might be formed as a person learns new information and

has new experiences. If one's mind resist this change, it will negatively affect the person or

the student. The student will have poor academic performance, low self-esteem, low critical

thinking skills, weak communication skills, and limited vocabulary development.

 THE PROBLEM

Statement of the Problem

The purpose of the study is to determine the EFFECTS OF POOR READING

COMPREHENSION TO GRADE 7 STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE. This

study will be conducted at Don Vicente Rama Memorial National High School, within the

academic school year 2023-2024.

Specifically, the study attempts to answer the following questions:

1. Why do Grade 7 students have poor reading comprehension?

2. How does poor reading comprehension affect the Grade 7 students’ academic

performance?

3. How can they improve their poor reading comprehension in order to have a good academic

performance?
Significance of the Study

Learning how to read is easy but understanding what has been read is a common

problem for students nowadays. This study aimed to provide a valuable information on how

poor reading comprehension affects the academic performance of a Grade 7 student. The

outcome of this study will be beneficial especially to the following:

Students. In reading this study, students will learn the effects of having a poor reading

comprehension and will also learn the ways to improve it. This will motivate them not only to

practice their reading skill but also to practice understanding what they are reading.

Parents. Parents will gain insights into the challenges their children are facing with reading

comprehension. This awareness enables them to support their children’s learning, providing

support and encouragement to improve comprehension skills.

Teachers. In reading this study, the school administrator will focus on finding ways to

improve the students’ reading comprehension to have efficient learners.

Future Researchers. Future researchers will serve this study as their basis for their own study,

as they will be aware of the effects of poor reading comprehension to Grade 7 students.
Definition of Terms

In every research study, there are always terms that need to be defined for a clear

understanding of the research problem. These are the following terms found in the research

title and Statement of the Problem that have to be defined conceptually and operationally:

Academic Performance – is the measurement of student achievement across various

academic subjects. In this study, it is the result of the efforts exerted by the students

represented by their grades per subject and is one of the independent variables.

Effects – refers to the alteration, consequences, or outcomes produced by a specific cause,

action, or event. In this study, it refers to the outcome of Poor Reading Comprehension and

also one of the dependent variables.

Grade 7 Students – students who are in the seventh grade of their Junior High School

Education, under 12-13 years old. In this study, they are the respondents, the ones involved in

the problem, and also one of the dependent variables.

Improve – to enhance the quality, precision, or effectiveness of something, typically by

refining processes, increasing efficiency, or incorporating constructive feedback, with the

ultimate goal of achieving superior results or performance. In this study, it is the making of

the students’ reading comprehension better and is part of the third sub-problem.

Poor Reading Comprehension – refers to students’ skill in understanding the meaning behind

words, phrases, and other texts. This is the problem that students are engaged in and one of

the independent variables.

Reasons – are the underlying justifications or explanations that support a decision, action,

belief, or phenomenon, often noted in logical evidence, or personal motivations, contributing

to a comprehensive understanding of cause and effect. In this study, they are the causes a

student has Poor Reading Comprehension and is part of the first sub-problem.
 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presents the existing published literatures and studies that are relevant to

the present study: The Effects of Poor Reading Comprehension to Grade 7 students’

Academic performance.

Related Literature

This section presents the existing published literatures that relate to the present study.

As stated by Paul Nowak (2021) in an online magazine taken from Iris Reading

entitled, “What are the causes of Poor Reading comprehension (& How to Fix them)”, having

a learning disorder like ADHD and dyslexia can result in a poor reading comprehension.

Since ADHD and dyslexia can lower the attention span, the student will most likely get bored

halfway into reading the material. Also, students that have limited vocabulary will focus

more on decoding the meaning of the words instead of understanding the text. This will slow

down their reading speed and will hinder the development of their reading comprehension.

The cited literature is relevant to the proposed study since it tackles the causes of

having poor reading comprehension, which is the first sub-problem of the study. The

literature has a wider scope in terms of the person involved, for it talks about youth in

general, while the proposed study focuses on a specific group of youth, which is the Grade 7

students. Also, the site of the reviewed literature is in the United States of America, whereas

the site of the proposed study is in Don Vicente Rama Memorial National High School. Both
the cited literature and proposed study focus on the same research problem, which are the

causes of poor reading comprehension.

Some students with poor reading comprehension have trouble learning to read and

pronounce words but grasping the meaning of the text is their main dilemma. According to

Logsdon (2023), on her article taken from Very Well Family entitled, “What is Reading

Comprehension?”, kids that have a poor reading comprehension disorder will most likely

experience challenges in word recognition, difficulties in understanding the main ideas in

reading passages, troubles in reading aloud, and problems in remembering significant details.

These effects will later affect their academic performance and their well-being, especially

their mental health.

The reviewed literature relates to the second sub-problem of the proposed study for it

tackles on the impacts of having a poor reading comprehension. Though in the proposed

study, the researchers used the word “effects” instead of “impact”. With regards to the

persons involved, this literature uses the general term, teens, whereas in the proposed study, it

focuses on the Grade 7 students. Also, the site of the cited literature is in The United States of

America, while the site of the proposed study is in Don Vicente Rama Memorial National

High School. The cited literature and proposed study are focusing on the same research

problem, which is the effects of poor reading comprehension.

In an article by Maria Kampen (2022) taken from Prodigy Game entitled “11 Proven

Tips to Improve Reading Comprehension Skills for Students”, she gave some tips to pass

along to students to help them improve their poor reading comprehension skills as a student.

These are: Tip 1: Build in existing knowledge. This will help students draw inferences and

make connections between the text and the things they already know. Tip 2: Identify and

summarize key ideas. Summarizing a text can help students pull out main points and absorb
more information. Tip 3: Use online resources. It helps students engage to different interests

as they practice their reading comprehension. Tip 4: Use visual aids. To help students build a

picture in their minds of what they are reading, use visual aids and visualization techniques.

Tip 5: Develop vocabulary skills. Vocabulary teaching strategies can help students build the

tools to understand new words on their own. Tip 6: Implement thinking strategies. Ask

questions that will make the students think about the deeper meaning in a text and help them

use critical thinking skills as they look for key points. Tip 7: Create question and answer

scenarios. Questioning students on different aspects of the text helps them examine it with

fresh eyes and find new ways of interpreting it. Tip 8: Encourage reciprocal teaching. It gives

students four strategies for reading comprehension, namely, Predicting, Questioning,

Clarifying, and Summarizing Tip 9: Use summarizing techniques. Summarizing techniques

help students learn how to find and bring together key ideas. Tip 10: Ask students to make

predictions. It does not only build the students’ reading comprehension, but it also

encourages them to engage with the material critically and teaches them to build solid, text-

bared arguments. Tip 11: Try making inferences. Inferences help students draw conclusions

between the text and their prior knowledge.

This cited literature is relevant to the proposed study for it discusses how students

should improve their poor reading comprehension skills. The persons involved in the cited

literature use the general term, students, whereas in the proposed study, it specifically selects

50 Grade 7 students. The site of the reviewed literature is in the United States of America,

while the site of the proposed study is in Don Vicente Rama Memorial National High School.

Both the cited literature and proposed study focus on the same research problem, which are

the ways to improve poor reading comprehension.

Related Studies

This section presents the studies relevant to the proposed study.

In the journal BrainFacts.org, a research study entitled "What is Performance

Anxiety?" published by Sian Beilock (2018), he stated that the study explores the causes and

potential solutions for performance anxiety. Then, the researchers obtained their data from an

in-depth interview with the participants, who were high school students experiencing

performance anxiety at the University of California. Based on the students’ responses,

findings show that performance anxiety occurs due to three remarkable factors, including the

anticipation of stressful events, the desire to perform well, and concerns about one’s ability to

meet expectations.

The cited study is relevant to the proposed study in a way that it tackles the causes of

performance anxiety. As to the participants, the cited study mentioned high school students as

respondents, while in the proposed study, the respondents are Grade 9 students. Also, the site

of the reviewed study is in California, whereas the site of the proposed study is in Don

Vicente Rama Memorial National High School. The cited study has the same research

problem as the proposed study since both studies focus on the causes of performance anxiety

in high school students.

Based on the research study entitled, “Effects of Reading Difficulties on Academic

Performance Among Three Students in Public Secondary Schools, Kiambu, Kenya” and

published by Wanjiku Karanja (2015), he stated that poor reading comprehension affects

academic performances. Teacher’s response on the extent to which they agree with various

statement about effects of reading difficulties (comprehension errors) on academic

performance, was done using a Likert scale from 1-5 where; 1-Strongly Disagree; 2-
Disagree; 3-Neither agree nor disagree; 4-Agree; 5-Strongly Agree. Ninety percent of the

teachers strongly agreed that reading difficulties appeared to affect performances in all other

subjects. The study found that majority of the teachers of English from the sampled schools

agreed that poor reading skills affects academic performance in all the examinable subjects.

The cited study is relevant to the proposed study for it focuses on Reading

Comprehension. Both studies have different individuals, since the cited study focuses on

Secondary High School students, while the proposed study specifies the Grade 7 students.

Also, the cited study was conducted in Kenya, while the proposed study is at Don Vicente

Rama Memorial National High School. The cited study has the same research problem with

the proposed study for both studies focus on the Effects of Poor Reading Comprehension to

Secondary High School Students.

In a research study entitles, “Problems in Reading Comprehension” published in 2019

by Janeth Holgado, she explored to determine the problems encountered in reading

comprehension as perceived by the Grade 11 students of Makiling Integrated School. She

used a quantitative method through standard survey form to gather the needed data in the

study. A total of 30 out of 240 Grade 11 students in Makiling Integrated School were used as

respondents in this study. Based on the results, it reveals that the problem lies primarily on

the language used. The students lack familiarity with the functions of words and

comprehending the text because they cannot decode the meaning of the text. Furthermore,

because of poor vocabulary development, students were unable to get the meaning of the text

despite the context clues used followed by the poor background knowledge in the English

language.

This cited study is partially relevant to the proposed study since it tackles about

reading comprehension. However, the study does not have the same research problem since
the cited study only highlights the cause on why students are having a problem of reading

comprehension, while the proposed study prioritized on the effects of poor reading

comprehension to the academic performance of students. As to the participants, the cited

study targets the Grade 11 students in Makiling Integrated School, whereas the proposed

study concentrates more on Grade7 students in Don Vicente Rama Memorial National High

School.
Overall Summary of the Review

The cited literatures and studies are relevant to the present study because all of them

tackles about Poor Reading Comprehension. They just differ in the specific aspects like in the

literature, one source focuses on the Causes of Poor Reading Comprehension of students,

another source discusses the Effects of Poor Reading Comprehension, the third source deals

with the Ways to Improve Poor Reading Comprehension, while in the present study, it

focuses on the Effects of Poor Reading Comprehension to Academic Performances of Grade

7 Students. When it comes to the persons involved and the locale, the cited literatures made

mention of the general term ‘students’ but no specific pales were identified, while the present

study focuses on a specific grade level and a school. On the part of the cited studies, still it

tackles about Poor Reading Comprehension, but it varies on the targeted individuals and

problems. One study talks about the factors, impacts, and solutions of poor reading

comprehension to students, another study tackles the effects of reading difficulties on

academic performance, and the third study points out the problems in reading comprehension.

The individuals involved, the place of the study, and the time frame in the cited studies are

varied in comparison to the present study. Since the present study specifically selected the

Grade 7 students of Don Vicente Rama Memorial National High School year 2023-2024 to

be the respondents of the research problem on the effects of Poor Reading Comprehension to

their Academic Performance, it is more original and specific.

 CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND PROCEDURE

This chapter presents the method and processes that were used to gather data

regarding the present study.

Method

Quantitative – Descriptive method was used in the study to determine the Effects of

Poor Reading Comprehension to Grade 7 Students’ Academic Performance. The process was

done by giving sets of questions through an approved survey questionnaire which is related to

the study.

Environment/Locale

The study was conducted in Don Vicente Rama Memorial National High School

located at Macopa Street, Basak Pardo, Cebu City which is the first national high school in

the South of Cebu City. It was opened on June 7, 1993 and acquired its name as Cebu City

Don Carlos A. Gothong Memorial National High School – Basak Extension through DECS

Order No. 5, Series of 1989. This was made possible through the joint effort of the then

Department of Education, Culture and Sports now Dep-Ed, Division of Cebu City headed by

Dolores P. Abellanosa and Cebu City Government with Hon. Alvin B. Garcia as Mayor. The
first principal was Dr. Mathilde R. Mayonila. The school started with 300 first year students

with 50 students per section.

The school become independent with national funding last October 9, 1993. The

following year, in1994, the school acquired its new name, Basak National High School.

Through Sangguniang Panlungsod resolution in 2004, Basak National High School was

converted into Don Vicente Rama Memorial National High School. This school’s namesake

was the representative of Cebu’s 3rd district instrumental as the author and sponsor of the bill

of creating the City of Cebu and was enacted into a law as Commonwealth Act No. 58 by the

Philippine Congress on October 20, 1936. He is also known as the “Father of the Cebu City

Charter”.

The school mainly serves the entire portion of Basak-San Nicolas and Basak-Pardo. It

also serves the nearer barangays around it like Mambaling, Punta Princesa, Tisa, Kinasang-an

Pardo, and Quiot. It aims to produce learners who do ordinary things extraordinarily well to

achieve a culture of excellence.

At present, the school is being headed by Mrs. Evelyn R. Pielago – Principal IV and

assisted by Mrs. Mary Christine Abas – Head Teacher III (2 nd shift) and Mr. Noel Nacorda –

Head Teacher II (1st shift). The school is a fast-growing community of students and one of the

biggest public schools in the South of Cebu City. It has an active Supreme Student

Government and student organizations which facilitate and mediate school activities. The

latter also assists the school officials, faculty, and staff in all events within the school.

Currently, there are eleven buildings in the entire School Vicinity, eight of which are

used by the Junior High School students and three of which are used by the Senior High

School students. The researchers conducted the study to Grade 7 Science Class Alpha

students occupying building 9 room 5, 2 nd floor, Grade 7 Science Class Beta occupying
building 9 room 4, 2nd floor, Grade 7 Cheerful occupying building 9 room 4, 3 rd floor, and

Grade 7 Faithful occupying building 9 room 1, 3rd floor.

Participants

The researchers randomly selected fifty (50) Grade 7 Students to be respondents of

the study with the age range of 13-14 years old. Out of the fifty (50), twenty-nine (29) were

females and twenty-one (21) were males. Sixteen (16) students were from Grade 7 Science

Class Alpha, eleven (11) from Grade 7 Science Class Beta, ten (10) from Grade 7 Cheerful,

and thirteen (13) from Grade 7 Faithful. The respondents were given 2-3 minutes to answer

the survey questionnaire. From the six hundred seventy-eight (678) Grade 7 students in Don

Vicente Rama Memorial National High School, year 2023-2024, only 7.37 percent (7.37%)

of the total population was surveyed.

Sampling Technique

The study used the Random Sampling Technique in conducting the survey because

the researchers selected a group of students randomly and at the convenient time of the

respondents. The researchers fairly divided the number of Grade 7 students.

Instrument

To gather data in determining the effects of poor reading comprehension on the

academic performance of Grade 7 students, a survey questionnaire was formulated by the

researchers. It is divided into three sections. Section A used the Dichotomous and

Contingency Questions which determine if the respondents have Poor Reading

Comprehension or not and the reasons behind their Poor Reading Comprehension or the

reasons behind their good reading comprehension. Section B used the Rank Order Scaled

Question wherein the respondents ranked the Given Effects of Poor Reading Comprehension

on their Academic Performance from 1-5, 1 being the highest and 5 being the lowest. Section

C used the Likert type scale in which the respondents checked the column that best fits their

response to the given statements regarding the Ways of Grade 7 Students to Overcome Poor

Reading Comprehension to improve their Academic Performance.

Data Gathering Procedure

The researchers made a survey questionnaire which underwent many corrections and

revisions until it was approved by the research adviser. After the approval, the instrument was

encoded, photocopied in fifty (50) copies, and distributed to the randomly selected

respondents. They were given 2-3 minutes to answer the survey questionnaire which directly

relates to the study’s objective. After the allotted time ended, the researchers retrieved the

fifty (50) distributed survey questionnaire copies for them to tally the responses and analyze

it. However, the researchers encountered a problem; some questionnaires were answered

incorrectly, but the researchers gave them back to the respondents who answered them to

correct them, and the problem was solved.

 CHAPTER IV

PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, AND INTERPRETATION OF

DATA

This chapter provides the graphical and tabular presentation of the data gathered, its

analysis and interpretation on the Effects of Poor Reading Comprehension to Grade 7

Students’ Academic Performance.

Figure 2

Percentage of Respondents’ Having Poor Reading Comprehension or Not

15
Yes

35 No
 Figure 2 shows that out of fifty (50) respondents, 30% of them considered themselves

as poor readers while 70% do not. This means that the majority of the respondents are not

poor readers.

TABLE 1

Reasons of Respondents Having Poor Reading Comprehension

Indicators Number of Responses Percentage

1. Lacking in concentration 7 46.67%

2.Taking too much time to 2 13.33%

understand

3. Having limited vocabulary 2 13.33%

4. Difficulty understanding 2 13.33%

the text

5. Having word confusion 2 13.33%

Total 15 100%

Table 1 shows that indicator 1 got the highest percentage of 46.67% while indicators

2, 3, 4, and 5 got the lowest of 13.33%. This reveals that seven (7) respondents who answered

Yes have poor reading comprehension due to lack in concentration.

 TABLE 1.1

Reasons of Respondents’ Not Having Poor Reading Comprehension

Indicators Number of Responses Percentage

1. Having a background 4 11.43%

knowledge

2. Knowing how to visualize 9 25.71%

a text

3. Having a wide range of 19 54.30%

vocabulary

4. Being interested to read 3 8.60%

5. Having an efficient 0 0%

reading strategy

Total 35 100%
 Table 1.1 shows that indicator 3 got the highest percentage of 54.30% while indicator

5 got the lowest percentage of 0%. This reveals that the 19 respondents who answered No do

not have poor reading comprehension due to having a wide range of vocabulary.

TABLE 2

Effects of Poor Reading Comprehension to Respondents’ Academic

Performance

Indicators Number of Responses Rank

1. Poor academic 195 5

performance

2. Low self-esteem 106 1

3. Low critical thinking 126 2

4. Weak communication skills 147 3

5. Limited vocabulary 172 4

development
 Table 3 shows that indicator 2 ranks 1st with 106 number of responses while indicator

1 ranks 5th with 195 number of responses. This reveals that the primary effect of poor

reading comprehension to the academic performance of the respondents is low self-esteem.

TABLE 3

Ways of Respondents in improving their Poor Reading Comprehension

Indicators Weighted Mean Interpretation Rank

1. Students should 4.48 SA 1

use context clues

2. Students should 4.60 SA 1

practice active
reading which
involved answering
guide questions

3. Students should 4.22 SA 1

read regularly

4. Students should 4.40 SA 1

summarize what they
read

5. Students should 3.56 A 2

discuss the text with
a friend

6. Students should 4.35 SA 2

have a reading
strategy in reading
text, such as SQ3R

Average Weighted 4.26 SA 1

Mean

Range:
4.21 – 5.00 Strongly Agree 1
3.41 – 4.20 Agree 2
2.61 – 3.40 Neutral 3
1.81 – 2.60 Strongly Disagree 4

Table 3 shows that indicator 2 got the highest weighted mean of 4.60 while indicator

5 got the lowest weighted mean of 3.56. The average weighted mean is 4.26 which is

interpreted as “Strongly Agree”. This means that the best way for respondents to improve

their reading comprehension is by practicing active reading which involves answering guide

questions as strongly agreed by them.

Limitations

Upon making the study, the researchers encountered difficulties in gathering data

about the problem since the citations should be withing 10 years range for it to be considered

recent. In the making of the survey questionnaire, the researchers met many corrections and

did revisions for it to be approved by the research adviser. In the process of doing the survey,

some respondents did not thoroughly read the instructions and understand the questions that

led them to answer the survey incorrectly. To overcome these problems, first, the researchers

guided the respondents in answering the survey questionnaire. Second, they monitored the

respondents to see if they really were following correctly the instructions given by being
there in person as they answered to avoid confusion in the process. Third, the researchers

noticed that there were mistakes in the answers, so, they did the resurvey. Lastly, the

researchers were supposed to survey seventy percent (70%) of the total population, which is

four hundred seventy-five (475) students out of six hundred seventy-eight (678) students.

However, due to lack of financial fundings and limited time, the research adviser suggests to

only survey fifty (50) students or 7.37 percent (7.37%) of the total population.

CHAPTER V

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION, AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter contains the summary of findings undertaken, conclusion drawn, and

recommendations made as an outgrowth of the study Effects of Poor Reading Comprehension

to the Academic Performance of Grade 7 Students.

Summary of Findings

This study was conducted for the purpose of determining the Effects of Poor Reading

Comprehension to the Academic Performance of Grade 7 Students in Don Vicente Rama

Memorial National High School. It specifically answered the following sub-problems: the

factors responsible for Grade 7 Students having Poor Reading Comprehension, the effects of

Poor Reading Comprehension to the Academic Performance of Grade 7 Students, and the

ways of Grade 7 Students in improving their academic performance. The quantitative-

descriptive method was utilized, and the random and convenience sampling technique was

used to gather data from the randomly selected fifty (50) respondents who have Poor Reading

Comprehension using the self-made survey questionnaire as the instrument. The inquiry was

conducted during the school year 2023-2024.

Based on the gathered results, there are findings:

1. Out of the fifty (50) respondents, fifteen (15) identified themselves as poor readers

because they lack concentration compromising 30% while the remaining thirty-five (35)

do not identified themselves as poor readers because they have a wide range of

vocabulary compromising 70%.

2. According to the respondents, having poor reading comprehension does affect the

academic performance and they are as followed: Having a low self-esteem which is rank

1, having low critical thinking which is in rank 2, and having weak communication skills

which is in rank 3.

3. The most common reason of the respondents for having difficulty in reading is that they

lack concentration with a total percentage of 46.67%. With that, the most common way

to improve their reading comprehension as students is practice active reading which

involves answering guide questions.

Conclusion

Based on the presented data, the researchers concluded that poor readers lack

concentration and has negative impact on students’ academic performance and to their way

of communicating to other people that lead them to have a low self-esteem, low critical

thinking, and weak communication skills. To prevent this from happening, having a reading

strategy is important, also practice active reading, using context clues and read regularly

helps a student to improve their reading comprehension.

Recommendations

With the given conclusion, the researchers recommend that:

Students Who Have Poor Reading Comprehension. They should read books or other reading

materials in their free time instead of always playing on their gadgets.

Family. If parents notice that their child is having a hard time reading, they should encourage

him/her to read books that challenge their reading abilities.

Teachers. They should guide students with poor reading comprehension and provide proper

discipline by helping them understand and comprehend difficult words.

School. They should initiate programs that would help the students learn to read difficult

words and develop good reading comprehension.

Another topic which is relevant to the present study is the Barriers to the Reading

Comprehension of Public Junior High School Students.