Asia Pacific Journal of Education, Arts and Sciences, Vol. 5 No.

3, July 2018

Factors Affecting the Reading Comprehension Asia Pacific Journal of

Education, Arts and Sciences
of Grade Six Pupils in the City Division of Vol. 5 No.3, 72-78
July 2018
Sorsogon, Philippines as Basis for the P-ISSN 2362-8022
Development of Instructional Material E-ISSN 2362-8030
www.apjeas.apjmr.com
Michael L. Estremera (MAED)1, Geraldine L. Estremera2
1
Marinas 1 Elementary School, Sorsogon East, Sorsogon City, Philippines;
2
Balogo Elementary School, Sorsogon East, Sorsogon City, Philippines.
1
estremera_michael@yahoo.com, 1michael.estremera@deped.gov.ph,
2
geraldine.estremera@deped.gov.ph

Date Received: November 13, 2017; Date Revised: July 11, 2018

Abstract - This study probed on the factors Keywords: Factors, Silent Reading, Oral Reading,
affecting the reading comprehension of Grade Six PHILIRI, Reading Comprehension
pupils, comprehension level based on pre-test
PHILIRI for S.Y. 2013-2014 and training needs of INTRODUCTION
teachers. Results of the study served as basis in the Reading is a complex process that involves
development of instructional material to improve the sensation, perception, comprehension, application and
reading level of the pupils. The researchers integration. It is the process of making and getting
distributed the questionnaires in the four districts meaning from printed words and symbols. Reading as
comprising the City Division. The researchers aptly a whole, is a means of communication and of
considered the descriptive-developmental method of information and ideas. As a matter of fact Aracelo (
research. It described the reading level of the Grad 1994) as cited by Panerio [1] reported that “85% of
Six pupils and training needs of teachers to efficiently the things that people do involve reading”. Individuals
and effectively handle their pupils. A reading module read
was collaboratively developed by the researches to street signs, advertisements, menus in restaurants and
improve the reading level of the pupils. Findings recipes from cook books, dosage of medicine and
reveal that in Silent Reading, 5% or 1444 out of 2503 others.
pupils were on frustration level of comprehension, Moreover, reading is the foundation of academic
30% were on instructional and only 302 or 12% were success and life learning. One article from Philippine
Star [2] states that:
classified as independent readers. In oral reading,
“The undeniable fact remains that majority of
71% or 1789 out of 2503 fell on frustration level, 594
Filipino students do not possess the ability and
turned out instructional readers while the remaining
motivation to read. In 2007, the Department of
percentages were categorized as independent
Education reported that 70 percent or our
readers. This is only
learners are incapable of reading within the
5% or 120 of the pupils tested. Further, it revealed
expected level. This is the situation of reading
that there were factors affecting the reading
achievement intensifies in the Philippines as
comprehension of the pupils. These factors are pupil,
evaluated by Scholastic Inc., the world’s largest
language, teacher, school head, school, home and
publisher and distributor of children’s book”.
community factors. The researchers recommend the ff.
(i) the module that was developed may be utilized to
Due to the fast evolving world and changing
develop not just the level of comprehension but the
technology it cannot be denied that sometimes reading
linguistic competence as well, infusing other
is taken for granted. Former DepEd Sec. Abad
interrelated skills such speaking, writing, listening
deplored the poor performance of the pupils’
and viewing. (ii)There should be close monitoring of
assessment test and said that, the low scores in
pupil’s progress by the parents and school
English, Mathematics and Science can be attributed to
administrators; and (iii) A reading program like peer-
pupils’ lack of ability in basic reading and
pair and remedial reading may be provided.
comprehension. In addition, he said

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that one of the major problems in reading is the poor between the lines, combining information and making
reading comprehension, which leads to poor inferences and comprehending them. In this level, the
understanding of printed symbols. reader will answer the how and why questions. The
The Department of Education (DepEd) intensifies third level is the applied or reading beyond the lines,
reading literacy in schools by forcing the program using information to express opinion and form ideas
called” Every Child A Reader Program” (ECARP) [3]. and involves application. The fourth level is the
The undersecretary said that the new program aims to critical level where the reader will answer an open-
make every Filipino a reader at the end of Grade III. ended question regarding the behavior of the minor or
The undersecretary is expecting that no pupil will be major character and the style of presentation.
promoted to higher grades unless he/she manifests
In the same vein, Gray [8] affirms that there are
mastery and basic literacy skills in particular grade [4].
other factors that influence the reading activity. These
Reading and reading comprehension are
interrelated are comprehension, concentration, memory and
skills. In order for students to be able to comprehend personality. The teacher factor must be considered also
what they are reading, they have to develop in the reading process. The teacher chooses her subject
comprehension skills in reading. By itself, the concept and the instructional materials to be used for the
of reading comprehension is vast in breadth and depth. students. The foregoing authors stress that the students
Comprehension is the ultimate outcome of having may do better in reading with proper concentration,
read. It is the most important ongoing activity of quick memory and optimistic personality. This was
reading. These statements show bearing to the study connected to the outcome of the study that there had
insofar as the ultimate objective of the developed been factors related to the reading comprehension of
reading primer is towards the development of reading the pupils which include absenteeism, economic status
comprehension by integrating the other reading skills and so forth.
to ensure permanency in learning. Background knowledge plays an essential role in
Jonhston [5] considers reading comprehension as reading comprehension. In an effort to comprehend a
building bridges between the “new and the unknown” text, students rely on their background knowledge to
and the importance of prior knowledge are vital in the link what they already know to the text they are
reading instruction. Comprehension simply cannot reading. Background knowledge includes both a
occur when nothing is already “known” because then reader’s real-world experiences and literary
there is nothing to which reader could link the knowledge. Drawing parallels between background
“unknown”. Indeed, prior knowledge is so necessary knowledge and texts helps students become active
for comprehension to freely flow from easiest to the readers, improving their reading comprehension [9].
most complicated. In support to the foregoing view, As for Atienza [10] whether or not students have
the researcher primarily ignited the schema of the mastered vocabulary skills affects their reading
pupils by infusing related portraits in each skill to be comprehension. Students must be able to comprehend
developed in the reading primer. a familiar word and its relationship with other words
Understanding the meaning of text and knowing the within a text. Mastering vocabulary includes
author’s intentions among others are part of recognizing a word’s part of speech, definition, useful
comprehension. Russel [6] claims that comprehension context clues, and how it functions in a sentence.
requires knowledge not only of words but their These vocabulary strategies can help improve
relationships in sentences, paragraphs and longer comprehension. These milieus were considered by the
passages. It involves understanding of the intent of the researcher in the development of the reading primer by
author and may go beyond literal and recorded facts to integrating local events and celebrations in order to
hidden meaning or implications. Hence, it entails deep establish connection and consider the background
thinking and requires skills to infer and read critically. knowledge of the readers.
This finding was confirmed in this study since In the long run, this piece of work was confined at
majority of the pupils were categorized under determining the factors affecting the reading
comprehension of Grade VI pupils and level of
frustration level of reading comprehension.
Likewise, according to Villamin [7] there are four comprehension. Included also are some
levels of comprehension. The first level is the literal recommendations to improve the reading level of the
which means reading lines, getting the information subject of the study. Other Grade levels such as Grade
drift, answering questions on: who, what, where and I to V pupils with English subject were excluded in
when. The second level is the interpretive or reading this study. It is thus limited at providing results on
factors and reading comprehension level. Other
issues which
may be deemed researchable are left to future questionnaires to the respondents. Classmates and
researchers. friends of the researchers were also instrumental in the
retrieval of some accomplished questionnaires. An
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY unstructured interview was also done upon retrieval to
This basic research envisioned to determine the supplement the necessary data. Furthermore, pertinent
factors affecting the reading comprehension and level data and information which could enhance this
of comprehension of Grade VI pupils. The findings endeavor were gathered from other sources such as
served as a basis to come-up reading module and school heads, teachers, former professors, colleagues
recommended training needs of teachers. Specifically, and co – teachers.
this academic pursuit aimed to determine the factors
affecting the reading comprehension of the Grade VI Data Analysis
pupils as perceived by their teachers; establish how The quantitative method of analyzing data was
many pupils fall under frustration, instructional and utilized in this research. This involves frequency
independent level based on pretest PHILIRI of Grade counts and percentage to determine the most common
VI pupils; find-out the training needs of English answers to the foregoing questions. Ranking was
Teachers; and develop instructional material may be likewise employed to determine the measure that will
developed as an output of the study. be proposed as an output of the study to address the
prevailing problems. Tabular and graphical
METHODS presentations helped to accurately show the outcome
The descriptive-developmental method of research of this piece of work. Moreover, related literatures and
was used in this quest for solution. It described the studies could be used to support the findings of the
factors and level of comprehension skills of the pupils. research. The previously cited literature could anchor
The training needs of teachers were also delineated. the findings of the endeavor.
These led to the development of an instructional
material as an output of the study. The reading module
is named as “Read To Learn, Save the World”. It made Ethical Issues
use of local events and sceneries as reading passages This research was undertaken in response to
and portraits to establish connection with the pupils. DepEd’s call for research intensification and also
systematically finding answers to the challenges
encountered by teachers relative to the implementation
The Sampling
The primary sources of data were the Grade VI of K to 12 curricula and is not categorically divulging
teachers representing at least 95% of the schools per the incompetence of the respondents or the low
district to ensure high reliability and validity of the academic performance of pupils featured in this
research work. This surpassed the ideal 20% masterpiece. As a matter of fact, Schools Division
population Superintendent approved the pursuance of this
when using random sampling. These schools could be research; hence, respective school heads, teachers, and
central, big and small schools chosen randomly thru a parents of the minor pupils concerned were also
fish bowl technique. The remaining percentages of notified. In the process of research, the data and
non-respondent schools are situated along coastal information that were taken from the respondents had
areas which deterred the researchers to distribute the been held with utmost confidentiality and anonymity.
questionnaires. Ensuing research ethics and rules had also been aptly
observed by the researcher to circumvent future
Table A. The Respondents problems relative to plagiarism, intellectual dishonesty
SCHOOL No. of Teacher Respondents and the like. Cited references were accordingly
Sorsogon East District 13 affirmed.
Sorsogon West District 21
The Table 2 indicates that Grade VI pupils have
Bacon West District 16
poor study habit, not motivated to read, commits
Bacon East District 14
∑= 64 absences and are nutritionally-challenged. In fact,
according to research conducted by the U.S. National
Institutes for Child Health and Development, [11] there
Data Collection
Approval of the Schools Division Superintendent is one overriding reason above all others that is the root
was sought prior to the distribution of questionnaires. cause of the unacceptably high percentage of
Thereafter, the researcher personally distributed the individuals who struggle as readers. These individuals
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have not been taught scientifically-based reading out that reading is one of the components of reading
instruction with a comprehensive and systematic skills that should be taught and developed among the
phonics component. According to their pupils. He further claims that spelling, grammar and
findings, struggling readers have difficulty identifying, immersion play a key role in the academic
discriminating, and isolating sounds—foundational performance of the clienteles.
skills for fluent reading. The mean percent of 74.48 for teacher factors and
54.69 for school head factors would imply that
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION teachers are doing their part in order to teach
As for the language factors, it turned out that pupils their pupils.
have limited vocabulary, poor grammar and spelling Respondents are faced with multifarious extra
and are low in finding the main ideas of what is being functions which steal the supposedly in contact time
read. Added factor is language immersion which is with pupils. For the school head factors, the
necessary to expose the pupils to the target language. respondents considered these factors as merely trivial
This findings is supported by Benton [12] who points- due to the many-sided functions too of their principals.

Table 2. Factors Affecting the Poor Reading Comprehension of Grade VI pupils S.Y. 2013-2014
Factors Affecting The Reading Comprehension Frequency Percent Mean Percent
1. Pupil Factors
a. Nutritional Status 53 82.81
b. Pupils are not motivated to read 57 89.06 83.75
c. Pupils read stories, selections and essays selectively 49 76.56
d. Pupils’ poor study habit 64 100
e. Absenteeism 45 70.31
2. Language Factors
a. Pupils’ poor/limited vocabulary 61 95.31
b. Pupils poor grammar and spelling 42 65.63 84.06
c. Low comprehension level 64 100
d. Selection contain unfamiliar words 40 62.5
e. Pupils are not immersed to English 62 96.88
3. Teacher Factors
a. Lack of appropriate strategies and approaches to 35 54.69 74.48
foster love for reading
b. Lack of skills in preparing reading materials 45 70.31
c. Overlapping teaching loads and extra functions 63 98.44
4. School Head Factors 54.69
a. Lack of seminar in teaching reading 45 70.31
b. Poor supervisory scheme 25 39.06
5. School Factors
a. Class size 60 93.75
b. Lack of catchy reading materials 55 85.94 78.91
c. Substandard classroom for learning with inadequate
Facilities 48 75
d. Absence of functional library 39 60.94
5. Home Factors
a. No follow-ups at home 62 96.88
b. Less motivation by siblings to study 60 93.75 83.75
c. Low educational background of parents 45 70.31
d. Pupils are forced to work for an extra income 42 65.63
e. Absence of reading materials at home 59 92.19
6. Community Factors
a. Lack of support from the Brgy. Council 45 70.31 64.06
b. Lack of support from external stakeholders 43 67.19
c. Non-functional learning resource center (LRC) 35 54.69
 FREQUENCY
1789
1800
1444
1600
1400
1200
1000 757
800 594
600
302
400 120
200
0
Oral Reading Silent Reading

Frustration Instructional Independent

Graph 1. No. of Pupils Classified under Frustration, Instruction and Independent Level
Highlighted also in the above table are the school Pupils’ score 90 to 96% in word recognition and 59%
factors which have to do with class size, lack of to 79 in comprehension. Fortunately, there are 120
instructional materials and absence of functional pupils who made it to the independent level as
library. These, according to the respondents, affect the revealed in the previous graph. They are those pupils
reading comprehension of the pupils. Furthermore, with highest level of reading who could independently
home factors earned a mean of 83.75. This would read with ease without the help or guidance of the
mean that when pupils go back their respective home teacher. The pupils in this level are free from tension,
after class, they are seldom monitored by their parents; finger pointing or lip movement. The pupils read with
hence are less motivated to study. The low educational rhythm and with conversational tone and interpret
background also poses a challenge to the pupils. punctuation correctly. Scores range from 97% to
Surprisingly, some pupils are made to work in order to 100% in word recognition and 80% to 100% in
help family’s finances. comprehension.
Delineated in graph 1 found in the next page are the On the other hand, shown also in the above graph is
no. pupils who were classified under the three levels of the turn-out for the silent reading assessment. This
reading comprehension according to PHILIRI. These reading assessment used a standard reading selection
are frustration, instructional and independent level to be read by the Grade VI pupils silently.
determined by respondents during the reading Thereafter,
assessment. series of questions were given to gauge whether they
It is noticeable that in oral reading test 1789 or have understood the selection given or the other way
nearly 71% of the Grade VI pupils are under the around. As seen in the foregoing graph, there are 1444
frustration level of reading comprehension while 24% or 58% who fell under frustration level, 30% out of
or exactly 594 of the pupils are classified as 2503 were on instructional level, and only 302 or 12%
instructional readers. Pupils show withdrawal from survived to the independent level of reading
reading situations crying or refusing to read. They comprehension. These pupils were able to answer the
commit errors in reading such as reversal, repetition, questions perfectly based on the selection given by the
substitution, insertion, mispronunciation and inability PHILIRI.
to interpret punctuation marks. The aforementioned findings seem to link with
Pupils’ score range are 89% and below in word Russel [6] who claims that comprehension requires
recognition and 59 to 79% in comprehension. The knowledge not only of words but their relationships in
instructional readers are those who could do simple sentences, paragraphs and longer passages. It involves
recall of the content of the selections they have read. understanding of the intent of the author and may go
beyond literal and recorded facts to hidden meaning or

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implications. Hence, it entails deep thinking and upshots, the researcher concluded that there were
requires skills to infer and read critically. factors which affected the reading comprehension of
In the same vein, according to Villamin [7], there Grade Six pupils in the City Division of Sorsogon.
are four levels of comprehension. The first level is the Majority fell under frustration level both in Oral and
literal which means reading lines, getting the Silent Reading.
information drift, answering questions on: who, what, Eventually, it is recommended that commended
where and when. The second level is the interpretive
that effective teaching strategies and other activities
or
reading between the lines, combining information and may be devised by teachers to improve the level of
making inferences and comprehending them. In this reading comprehension. The developed reading primer
level, the reader will answer the how and why that was developed may be utilized to develop not just
questions. The third level is the applied or reading the level of comprehension but the linguistic
beyond the lines, using information to express opinion competence as well, infusing other interrelated skills
and form ideas and involves application. The fourth such speaking, writing, listening and viewing. There
level is the critical level where the reader will answer shall be close monitoring of pupil’s progress by the
an open-ended question regarding the behavior of the parents and school administrators. A reading program
minor or major character and the style of presentation. like peer-pair and remedial reading may be provided.
If necessary, the module can be mass -produced to
partially solve the inadequacy of instructional
materials. A training of Grade VI teachers on
Instructional Materials Preparation, Seminar in
Teaching Reading and Training in Teaching
Bilingual Learners should be conducted.

REFERENCES
[1] Panerio, Reane O.(2008). Reading Comprehension
Skills of Gubat South Central School. Unpublished
Graph 2. Training Needs of Teachers Undergraduate Thesis: Bicol University Campus
[2] http://www.philstar.com.article.aspx?articled.639604&
publicationsubcategyld=442,2010
Reflected in the graph 2 are the training needs of [3] DepEd Order No.47, s. 2017 amendment to DepEd
teachers. Out of the five (5) identified trainings, the Order No. 18, s. 2017 re: Guidelines on the Utilization
training in teaching English as a 2nd language ranked of the Every a Reader Program (ECARP).
the first which is 93.75% of the respondents. Training [4] Mendoza, M. (2012). Proficiency Level of Grade
on instructional materials preparation earned a V and VI Multigrade Pupils in Reading, Barcelona
frequency of 58. Conversely, training in teaching Sorsogon: Unpublished Undergraduate Thesis.
reading obtained a frequency of 45 or 70.31% of the Sorsogon State College
total no. of teacher respondents. The least chosen [5] Johnston, P. (1991). Implications of Basic Research for
training according to the respondents is the training in the Assessment of Reading Comprehension Tech.
Report No. 206. Urbana and Champaign: Center for the
teaching bilingual learners which garnered a frequency
Study of Reading, University of Illinois
of only 40 which is 62.5%. [6] Russel, D. R., (1995). Children Learn to Read. New
York: Glinn and Company
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION [7] Villamin, A. (1987). Developmental Reading in
This undertaking has been conceptualized in order City Philippines: Phoenix Publishing House Inc. pp.
to give light to the intervening factors affecting the 12.
pupils. English teachers and school administrators, [8] Gray, William S., (1949). Chapter II in Reading ( High
therefore, may consider the results of this study in the School and College), Part I of the 47 th Year Book of the
teaching-learning process inSchool
be linguistically inclined. order for their and
heads clienteles
faculty National
UniversitySociety for the Study of Education. Chicago
to
members, on the other hand, shall clasp their hands [9] Al Khateeb, O. (2010). The Impact of Using KWL
together in crafting school intervention programs and Strategy on Grade Ten Female Students' Reading
projects that will cater to the needs of their end Comprehension of Religious Concepts in Ma'an City.
recipients such as Reading Remediation Programs, Retrieved August 10, 2010 from World Wide Web
Literary measures and the like. Considering the http://www.eurojournals.com/ejss_12_3_14.pdf.
[10] Atienza, L. (2002). Basic Communication and Thinking
Skills.Bulacan: Trinitas Publishing Inc.
[11] US Department of Education’s report The Nation’s
Report Card: Reading (2005.)
[12] Benton, W. (1972). Encyclopedia Britanica Vol. 19,
University of Chicago