Improving Reading Comprehension Skills Through SRA Reading Laboratory

Rexel Jay A. Clemeña

BSEd English

Abstract

The purpose of this action research is to improve the reading comprehension skills of
Grade 9 students through SRA reading laboratory. 5 students were chosen as the
participants of the study through cluster sampling. In order to gather the data, pre-test-
post-test design was utilized together with the two-week intervention period. The pre-
test and post-test results were compared to identify if the intervention was effective in
improving students’ reading comprehension skills. The result of this study revealed
that SRA reading laboratory was effective in improving students’ reading
comprehension skills. Therefore, schools and academic institutions should retain the
SRA reading laboratory reading program to improve the reading comprehension skills
of the students.

Introduction

Rationale and Significance of the Study

Reading comprehension is the cornerstone of education. It means that reading

should be prioritized in teaching so that students understand what they are reading.

But, reading comprehension is hard to master. It would take a lot of reading and

knowing the strategies of reading comprehension to master it. Rice (2005) stated that

reading comprehension is a process which necessitates intentional and interaction of

the readers to the text. Based on this definition, reading comprehension is composed

of different skills. It is composed of understanding of the words, seeing relationships

among words and concepts, organizing ideas, evaluating the context, and making

judgment of the message. Chunzhi (2009) claimed that comprehension is essential

because everyone have to read to acquire information and to communicate, wherein,

it is the ultimate purpose of reading. In that sense, many students failed to comprehend

a text because of the lack of knowledge of the strategies in comprehending a text. In

Sta. Anna National High School, particularly in Grade-9, the researcher found out that

there are numerous students who had poor scores in their formative and summative

tests especially in reading comprehension.

In the Philippines, reading experts pointed out during the 20 th World Congress

in Manila that many students read a text but whether they comprehend it or not is the

problem (Baylon, 2004). Hence, it is evident in the classroom composed of average

learners. Tabudlong et al. (2012) revealed that Philippines have the highest rate

among Southeast Asian nations that has poor reading comprehension because of its

increasing number of alliterate Filipinos especially those who fail to comprehend what

they are reading. And, one of the main factors is the lack of vocabulary knowledge.

However, there are many effective ways to improve the reading comprehension

skills of learners and one of which is the SRA Reading Laboratory. Tantarangsee

(2012) stated that SRA reading laboratory test improved the proficiency and expanded

reading comprehension of the students. Reading Laboratory is a proven reading

program for students that builds confidence and fluency, vocabulary, and to help

students to follow direction. Reading Laboratory has selections which suited to the

level of students and accommodate students at every level (Martella, 2004).

Nonetheless, Mabanes (2012) states that SRA Reading Laboratory is developmentally

and individually appropriate reading program because the reading materials used are
suited to the learners’ current grade level and the learners will read passages based

on their reading level and they will progress while in the program.

Tantarangsee (2012) found out that SRA Reading laboratory interventions

helped the students to employ such reading strategies as surveying, using context

clues to guess the meaning of the unknown word, questioning and reading, and using

of background knowledge. Therefore, McGraw-Hill Education (2012) suggested that if

the students wish to improve their reading comprehension, they must employ SRA

Reading laboratory and other kinds of reading activity. In conclusion, SRA Reading

Laboratory is deemed as an effective tool for improving reading comprehension.

Objective of the study

This study aims to describe the improvement of reading comprehension of

Grade-9 students of Sta. Ana National High School through SRA Reading Laboratory

during the school year 2018-2019.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to answer the following questions:

1. Would SRA Reading laboratory tests improve the reading comprehension

skills of students with difficulties comprehending a text?

2. Would SRA reading laboratory tests help students to develop strategies in

reading to effectively comprehend a text?

3. Are SRA reading laboratory tests effective in improving the reading

comprehension skills of students with difficulties comprehending a text?

Scope and Limitation

This study is limited to improve the reading comprehension skills of Grade 9

students of Sta. Ana National High School who have difficulties in reading

comprehension.

Method

This chapter presents the locale of the study, the students or the participants

involved, and the process of data collection, analysis and interpretation.

Locale of the Study

This study was conducted to the Grade 9 students of Sta. Ana National High

School for two weeks. They participated in SRA Reading Laboratory program. The

reading materials were suited to the grade and reading level of the students.

Participants/Subjects

The participants of this study were five grade-9 students that had difficulties in

reading comprehension. The participants were selected using cluster sampling. The

five participants were given pseudonyms for their anonymity.

Data Collection, Analysis, and Interpretation

The data of this study was collected using pre-test and post-test design. Before

conducting the intervention strategy, all students were asked to take a pre-test to
measure their reading comprehension skills. Afterwards, the researcher checked their

pre-test to identify their reading level- either they are frustration, instructional, or

independent readers. The results were recorded and tabulated for data analysis and

interpretation. The same process was repeated for the post-test. The participants’ pre-

test and post-test scores were compared to identify if there were significant

improvements of their reading comprehension skills after the SRA Reading Laboratory

intervention. At the same time, the results of the SRA Reading Laboratory were also

gathered to have in depth and thorough discussion that serve as evidence of the

improvement of reading comprehension skills of the participants. If all or most of the

participants had a significant increase of their post-test results compared to their pre-

test results, it can be concluded that SRA Reading Laboratory as intervention strategy

was effective. Therefore, the participants’ reading comprehension skills have indeed

improved.

Results and Discussion

This section presents the results and discussion of (a) students’ performances in

pre-test and post-test reading comprehension test, and (b) students’ performances in

SRA Reading Laboratory intervention.

Students’ Performances in Pre-test and Post-test Reading Comprehension

Test

Table 1 presents participants’ scores in pre-test and post-test with

corresponding reading level. As shown, all the participants got poor scores in their pre-

test which means they are all frustration readers. Moreover, it is also shown in the
table that there are significant improvements of the participants’ post-test results. All

the participants improve from frustration to independent readers. In turn, this means

that SRA reading laboratory is deemed to be an effective intervention to improve the

reading comprehension skills of the students.

Table 1. Pre-Test and Post-Test raw score with corresponding reading level

Participants Pre-Test Pre-Test Post-Test Post-Test

Score Reading Level Score Reading Level

Student A 7 Frustration 19 Independent

Student B 5 Frustration 19 Independent

Student C 5 Frustration 17 Independent

Student D 6 Frustration 18 Independent

Student E 7 Frustration 16 Independent

Total number of items: 25

Scale: Frustration: 0-7; Instructional: 8-15; Independent: 16-25

Such result is similar to the findings of Tantarangsee (2012) which revealed a

significant improvement of students’ reading comprehension skills through SRA

reading laboratory. The improvement is associated to what SRA reading laboratory- a

proven reading program- builds, which are confidence and fluency, vocabulary, and to

help students to follow direction.

Students’ Performances in SRA Reading Laboratory Intervention

Table 2 presents the overall performance of the participants throughout the 10-

day intervention phase. It can be seen that there are improvements of the participants’

scores as the color level of SRA reading laboratory progresses. This leads to the

improvement of an average of 177 for color orange, 201.8 for color gold, and 232.2 for

color brown. It can also be observed that the participants’ score progress as the same

time with SRA reading laboratory color level progress.

Table 2. Total scores of SRA Reading Laboratory (Lab 1c) Intervention

Participants Orange Gold Brown

Student A 180 205 232

Student B 174 201 230

Student C 182 200 232

Student D 172 199 234

Student E 177 204 233

Average (Mean) 177 201.8 232.2

Total number of items: Orange: 240; Gold: 240; Brown: 240

SRA Reading Laboratory: Lab 1c

Presented in figure 1 the improvement of the score of each participant, as well

as the progress of the color level of SRA reading level. In color orange, majority got

lower average in comparison with other color level. It is understandable because the

participants are perceived to adjust during this phase of implementation of the

intervention. Moreover, it can be seen that there are improvements of the scores of
each participant while the color level of SRA reading laboratory progress because the

students are now having the idea of how they are going to answer the SRA test.

Fig. 1. Average Score of SRA Reading Laboratory: Lab 1c.

Student E

Student D
Participants

Student C Brown
Gold
Orange
Student B

Student A

0 5 10 15 20 25
Average SRA Test Score

Nonetheless, the improvement of participants while having the SRA reading

laboratory intervention is evident in their post-test results. Furthermore, the graph

presented is in support with Mabanes (2012) study which states that SRA Reading

Laboratory is individually appropriate reading program because the learners will read

passages based on their reading level and they will progress while in the program.

Wherein, it is in support with the study of Tantarangsee (2012) which established a

result that SRA reading laboratory improves reading comprehension and fluency of

students.
Reflection

The result of the classroom action research had made me realized that indeed

reading comprehension skills would be enhanced if students were given opportunities

to improve by having a proven reading program- the SRA reading laboratory. I had

learned throughout the intervention that students should be guided appropriately by

teachers even though the instructions were explicitly written. During the adjustment

phase, I had seen myself keen to every questions of my participants and responded

accordingly which resulted to independent learning as the progress of intervention. In

that sense, I should become a teacher who mastered the intervention given to students

to properly accommodate their questions. Therefore, I should be an educator who

facilitates learning by letting them discover their responsibility and their role as

knowledge navigator to become independent learners.

 References

Baylon, P. (2004). 2009-2012 Accomplishment report for MAAP. Retrieved from

http://tinyurl.com/y5xbuelx on March 31, 2019

Chunzhi, Y. (2009). A comparative study of second language reading comprehension

from paper and computer screen. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/y32aonb8 on

April 1, 2019

Mabanes, P. (2012). Effectiveness of DEAR and ABRC materials in improving the

reading comprehension of the Grade II pupils. Retrieved from

http://tinyurl.com/y6o4qq6l on April 1, 2019

Martella, RC. (2004). Improving classroom behavior through effective instruction: An

illustrative program example using SRA FLEX literacy. Retrieved from

http://tinyurl.com/y22em6pa on April 1, 2019

McGraw-Hill Education (2012). SRA reading laboratory. Retrieved from

http://tinyurl.com/o7659cz on March 31, 2019

Rice, M. (2005). Reading comprehension skills and strategies. Retrieved from

http://tinyurl.com/y6b3x4n2 on April 1, 2019

Tabudlong, J. M. et al (2012). “Cognitive Skills and Reading Comprehension across

Disciplines”, International Conference on Education and Management

Innovation. IPEDR Vol.30. Singapore: IACSIT Press.

Tantarangsee, C. (2012). The impact of SRA reading laboratory on reading proficiency

improvement. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/y5ohgwa9 on March 31, 2019