READING COMPREHENSION LEVEL AND FACTORS INFLUENCING THE READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS OF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS OF ST. ANTHONY’S COLLEGE OF SANTA ANA, CAGAYAN INCORPORATED

Authors

  • Arjay Sagario St. Anthony's College of Sta. Ana, Cagayan Incorporated Author
  • Ana Marie Garcia Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.64358/7jdof074

Keywords:

reading comprehension, reading habits, strategies.

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the reading comprehension level of senior high school students of Saint Anthony’s College Inc. and to examine the factors that influence their comprehension skills. Out of the 200 senior high school students, 158 were randomly selected as respondents. Findings revealed that the students performed highly at the literal level of comprehension, followed by the inferential level. However, their performance at the evaluative level was lower, indicating the need for students to develop more effective reading habits, strategies, and exposure to reading materials that enhance vocabulary and critical thinking. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was employed to analyze the relationship between socio-demographic factors (age, sex, parents’ educational attainment, and occupation) and the reading comprehension levels of the respondents. Results showed no significant relationship between these factors and the students’ reading comprehension performance. Based on the findings, it is recommended that teachers utilize well-developed learning materials that strengthen vocabulary and comprehension skills, particularly at the evaluative level. Future studies are encouraged to further investigate additional factors that may influence students’ reading comprehension.

References

Anderson, R. C., Reynolds, R. E., Schallert, D. L., & Goetz, E. T. (1977). Frameworks for comprehending discourse. American Educational Research Journal, 14(4), 367–381. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312014004367

Novita, D., Manera, A. & Saboya, R.(2024).Global Education Through Local Lenses: A Qualitative Study on Teaching Practices in the Philippines and Indonesia Toward Achieving SDG 4. Studies in Interdisciplinary Horizons, 1(1), 11-20.

Bangayan- Manera, A. (2020). Writing Without Permission: A Case study on Skinner's Analogy through Vandalism. International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation. 24 (08), 571-578

Bangayan-Manera, A. (2019). Doodle: Towards A Hermeneutical Appreciation in Jacques Derrida’s Deconstruction. The Asian EFL Journal. 24 (4.2), 291-204.

Bangayan-Manera, A. (2019). Textual Analysis of School Graffiti. The Asian EFL Journal. 21 (2.3), 273-285.

Carrell, P. L., & Eisterhold, J. C. (1983). Schema theory and ESL reading pedagogy. TESOL Quarterly, 17(4), 553–573. https://doi.org/10.2307/3586613

Damanik, N. H., & Harianja, J. M. (2022). Improving students’ reading comprehension through comic books. Journal of English Language Teaching and Linguistics, 7(2), 289–301. https://doi.org/10.21462/jeltl.v7i2.912

Delgado, P., Vargas, C., Ackerman, R., & Salmerón, L. (2022). Don’t throw away your printed books: A meta-analysis on the effects of reading media on reading comprehension. Educational Research Review, 35, 100433. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2021.100433

Dima Hijazi, M. (2018). The relationship between reading comprehension and English achievement among university students. International Journal of English and Education, 7(3), 149–161.

Ebrahimi, S. S., & Bazaee, P. (2016). The effect of English subtitles on EFL learners’ listening comprehension and vocabulary learning. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research, 3(5), 291–300.

Estremera, M., & Estremera, J. (2018). Factors affecting reading comprehension level of Grade 6 pupils. International Journal of Advanced Research and Publications, 2(5), 103–111.

Fatiloro, O. F., Oyekola, A. A., & Hameed, B. O. (2017). A survey on the reading habits among college of education students in the information age. Journal of Education and Practice, 8(8), 106–110.

Gadaza, A., Manera, A., Caban, R., Alih, C., Tulawie, A., & Picpican, H. (2025). Cultural Identity and Historical Consciousness: A Study of Philippine History Instruction in Tertiary Education. International Journal on Culture, History, and Religion, 7(SI2), 19–35. https://doi.org/10.63931/ijchr.v7iSI2.135

Gadaza, A., Manera, A., Santos, S., Alih, C., & Caban, R. (2025). Reviving the Past, Teaching the Future: The Role of Philippine Cultural Heritage in Curriculum Development of Teacher Education Programs Focus. International Journal on Culture, History, and Religion, 7(SI2), 80–97. https://doi.org/10.63931/ijchr.v7iSI2.169

Manera, A., Dalaten, M. A., Matammu, C., Catungal, M., Prestoza, M. J., & Ligutan-Siplac, G. (2025). Narratives of Nationhood: Culturally Attuned Pedagogies for Filipino Literature in a Multilingual Educational Landscape. International Journal on Culture, History, and Religion, 7(SI2), 296–312. https://doi.org/10.63931/ijchr.v7iSI2.158

Herlina, H. (2022). The effectiveness of bilingual dictionaries in improving students’ reading comprehension. Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching, 17(1), 25–38.

Hibbing, A. N., & Erickson, J. L. (2003). A picture is worth a thousand words: Using visual images to improve comprehension for middle school struggling readers. The Reading Teacher, 56(8), 758–770.

Ma, Y., & Cheon, S. (2018). Effects of dictionary use on L2 vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension. System, 72, 93–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2017.11.005

Mahayanti, N. W. S., Putra, I. N. A. J., & Udayana, K. (2017). The effectiveness of using big books in teaching reading comprehension. Journal of Education Research and Evaluation, 1(3), 141–147.

Manguilimotan, R., Bulawan, R., & Villareal, A. (2024). Factors affecting the reading comprehension skills of Grade 3 pupils. International Journal of Multidisciplinary: Applied Business and Education Research, 5(2), 331–340.

Nurhayati, N., & Najoan, D. (2023). The correlation between reading habits and reading comprehension. Journal of English Language Teaching and Education, 12(1), 45–55.

Park, M., Yang, J., & Hwang, M. (2021). Comparing digital tablets and printed books for reading comprehension in young learners. Computers & Education, 172, 104257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2021.104257

Rumelhart, D. E. (1980). Schemata: The building blocks of cognition. In R. Spiro, B. Bruce, & W. Brewer (Eds.), Theoretical issues in reading comprehension (pp. 33–58). Erlbaum.

Saeidi, M., & Ahmadi, M. (2016). The effect of pre-reading video viewing on EFL learners’ reading comprehension. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research, 3(4), 248–259.

Sari, D., Wahyuni, E., & Susanti, D. (2020). An investigation on students’ difficulties in reading comprehension. Journal of English Language Teaching, 9(1), 12–19.

Shehu, I. (2015). Reading comprehension problems encountered by foreign language students. Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 4(1), 91–96. https://doi.org/10.5901/ajis.2015.v4n1s2p91

Singer, L. M., & Alexander, P. A. (2017). Reading across mediums: Effects of reading digital and print texts on comprehension and calibration. The Journal of Experimental Education, 85(1), 155–172. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220973.2016.1143794

Sukarni, I. (2019). The correlation between students’ reading attitude and reading comprehension. Journal of English Language Teaching and Literature, 4(1), 30–39.

Vachiera, M. (2023). Vocabulary, motivation, and gender differences in reading comprehension among Malaysian students. Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies, 36(2), 15–27.

Wagstaff, J. (2020). The power of reading: How literacy shapes learning and cognition. Journal of Educational Research, 113(4), 225–238. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2019.1652134

Wu, X., Anderson, R. C., Li, W., Nguyen-Jahiel, K., & Miller, B. (2019). The influence of classroom and teacher characteristics on reading comprehension in Chinese schools. Reading Research Quarterly, 54(2), 175–192. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.228

Wutthisingchai, O., & Stopps, J. (2018). Factors affecting reading proficiency of EFL learners. International Journal of Language Education, 2(1), 45–58.

Downloads

Published

2025-10-30

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2025): International Journal of Education, Literacies and Curriculum Studies

Section

Articles