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Chapter 1

The Problem and its Background

Introduction

As the scholarship on reading comprehension evolves with time, the definitions and perspectives

on studies continually change. In more recent studies, reading comprehension (RC) is understood

to be “the construction of meaning of a written or spoken communication through a reciprocal,

holistic interchange of ideas between the interpreter and the message in a particular communicative

context” (Harris & Hodges 1995, in McLaughlin, 2012). It is therefore understood that RC is a

social constructivist activity, where readers are engaged in decoding the meaning of a text, and to

ground this understanding from what they previously know. Meaning is also understood and

negotiated by engaging with others through discussions and more active engagement.

The complexity of reading comprehension is captured in theoretical models that describe the

cognitive and linguistic processes involved. Some models focus on the mental representation that

readers construct as a result of the process of understanding words, sentences, and their respective

relations within a text (McNamara & Magliano, 2009), whereas others focus on the developmental

trajectories of various processes and skills central to reading comprehension (e.g., the Simple View

of Reading; Gough & Tunmer, 1986). Although the various theoretical models emphasize different

aspects of reading comprehension, they share the central notion that, at its core, reading

comprehension involves the construction of a coherent mental representation of the text in the
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readers’ memory. This mental representation of the text includes textual information and

associated background knowledge interconnected via semantic relations (e.g., causal, referential,

and spatial relations). Semantic relations are identified by the reader through passive and strategic

inferential processes (van der Broek, Helder and Karlsson, 2014).

Over the last 20 years we have learned much about the nature of children’s reading motivation and

how it relates to both the amount and types of reading children do, and their reading

comprehension. We also have learned much about effective instructional practices that lead to

improvements in elementary and middle school children’s reading motivation. Yet much research

remains to be done with respect to understanding the development of children’s reading motivation

and what kinds of interventions can improve it. With respect to understanding reading motivation

most of the work to date has involved self-report measures. Such measures provide essential

information about how children view their motivation, but they have many limitations, especially

when used with young children. Teacher ratings of student motivation and engagement are one

alternative; they are reliable and relate to different outcomes. However, researchers should explore

observational and other types of measures of motivation, in reading and other areas (Wigfield,

Gladstone and Turci, 2016).

Constructs on reading comprehension had been extensively reviewed throughout the literature,

even in reading through the primary levels. The Simple View of Reading, for instance, provides a

framework to which learners are expected first to learn from simple decoding and sight reading

tasks before literal comprehension in the later years set in (Farnia and Geva, 2013). The application

of the Simple View of Reading had also been construct validated, adding to the credibility of the
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model as a verifiable framework for primary pupils (Protopapas, et.al., 2012). However, empirical

evidence is still desired to further improve the model not only for the strength of its own constructs

but also for the use in Philippine schools, admitting inherent cultural biases. Hence, the present

study aims to contribute to the growing empirical body supporting the Simple View of Reading as

a framework for the primary levels, and in assessing reading of the primary grades in general. It

also aims to further reading intervention and reading assessment in Philippine schools by making

an acculturated reading comprehension test that fully assesses the Filipino L2 reader.

Theoretical/ Conceptual Framework

The study gets its theoretical underpinnings from Gough and Turner’s Simple View of Reading.

As a reading model, it has been very popular among reading scholars and had been used on studies

regarding emergent literacy and reading in the early years. The Simple View of Reading simply

states that reading comprehension is a product of decoding and comprehension (Gough, 1996), or

R= D x C. Decoding means the recognition of words including sight words and phonemic

awareness, while comprehension stands for the understanding of the words’ literal meaning.

Dreyer and Katz (1992) later on improves this model by reconfiguring the equation to be R= D +

C, or that reading comprehension is compounding decoding and comprehension such that either

value can be a zero. In other words, this improvement implies that the first model by Gough and

Turner meant that reading comprehension is an activity that is basically an empowered decoding

process. However, the model of Dreyer and Katz implies that reading comprehension is an activity

that can be performed even with insufficient decoding or comprehension skills. This was later

referred to as the Component View of Reading, acknowledging that decoding and comprehension
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are equal components of reading. Joshi and Aaron (2000) later expands this model to R = D x C

+ S, which adds speed of reading into the equation.

The Simple View of Reading is very much suitable for the purposes of the study. A number of

studies in the literature mentions Simple View in light of reading comprehension for early and

middle school learners. It also comes compatible with curricular reading standards for elementary

level, where decoding skills like sight words and phonemic awareness are still honed.

The study considers the Simple View of Reading as its theoretical paradigm in the construction of

a reading comprehension test for Grade 6 pupils. To accomplish the goals of the study, it would

pursue the framework as represented below in Figure 1.

PROCESS OUTPUT
INPUT
 Construction  Revision and
 Content and of Test Review of
Performance  Checking of Test Items
Standards External and
Internal
Validity

Figure 1. Conceptual paradigm of the study

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The study’s framework is an Input-Process-Output framework that highlights the construction of

the test and the different considerations it entails. The Input phase of the study considers the

content and performance standards as indicated by national curriculum as its primary factors. The

Process phase emphasizes the construction and validation of the test. Finally, the Output phases

prepares the test for actual implementation.

Significance of the Study

The findings and output of the study would benefit a number of sectors, primarily in the field of

reading instruction.

Teachers. In the area of reading instruction, no one exerts more effort into educating the pupils

other than the teachers. Beyond studies that prove certain methods and reading strategies, it is the

teacher’s creativity that ultimately decides the reading program in schools. By using the reading

comprehension test to be produced in this study, they can improve their reading instruction to take

better consideration of their learners’ reading gaps and address them properly.

School administrators. The performance of schools in standardized test mostly cover basic

learning skills such as numeracy and reading. This reading comprehension test to be developed in

the study would help school administrators prepare a reading instructional plan to gauge and

improve learners’ reading levels, which will redound to their schools’ performance.
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Future scholars. The field of reading scholarship is a fast-paced field where theories and models

are fast evolving to suit modern needs. Studies that develop reading comprehension tests like these

help to validate the information that feeds into these studies to formulate better informed

researches that can be used to create school policies or reading programs.

Statement of the Problem

The study aims to develop a reading comprehension test for the Grade 6 pupils. It specifically

seeks to answer the following questions.

1. What are the different standards and topics to be identified as part of the reading

comprehension test?

2. What is the rate of reading comprehension of the Grade 6 pupils?

3. What is the internal/ external validity of the test construct?

Scope and Delimitation of the Study

The study will develop a reading comprehension test aimed at improving the reading

comprehension of Grade 6 pupils. The subjects of the study would only come from a single

selected school without an experimental set up. The items of the test would also come from the

content and performance standards as specified in the national curriculum.

The construction of the test will involve one month of construction, pre-testing and post-testing

for internal validity, survey for external validity, and pilot testing for determining further
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improvements. Experts on reading instruction and/or reading teachers will evaluate the merits of

the reading comprehension test.

Definition of Terms

Reading comprehension: the construction of meaning of a written or spoken communication

through a reciprocal, holistic interchange of ideas between the interpreter and the message in a

particular communicative context

Emergent literacy: writing and reading skills possessed early in life by early learners to be

enhanced by gradual literacy activities and lessons

Test validity: the quality of assessment tools to be consistent to the items that it intends to measure
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Chapter 2

Review of Related Literature

This chapter presents the findings of recent studies regarding reading comprehension and the

creation of reading comprehension tests. These studies come from various peer-reviewed scholarly

journals.

Testing Reading

As the scholarship on reading comprehension evolves with time, the definitions and perspectives

on studies continually change. In more recent studies, reading comprehension (RC) is understood

to be “the construction of meaning of a written or spoken communication through a reciprocal,

holistic interchange of ideas between the interpreter and the message in a particular communicative

context” (Harris & Hodges 1995, in McLaughlin, 2012). It is therefore understood that RC is a

social constructivist activity, where readers are engaged in decoding the meaning of a text, and to

ground this understanding from what they previously know. Meaning is also understood and

negotiated by engaging with others through discussions and more active engagement.

In some respects, the development of reading skills in RC classes also lead to a development of a

reading habit in students, nurturing their motivation to read as they go along. One study develops

a reading motivation test, the SRQ-Reading Motivation, to test this facet of reading instruction

(Naghel, et.al., 2012). The study frames the test from the self-determination theory, relating
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reading motivation with reading self-concept, behavior and performance. The test finds out that

recreational and academic reading motivation comprise of two factors: autonomous and controlled

motivation. Recreational reading also promoted positive reading behavior and better performance.

In the Simple view of reading model, there had been found two components that account for

individual differences in reading: print dependent components relating to decoding and word

identification, and print-independent components related to oral language comprehension. One of

the contentions in literature are whether word or nonword reading is a better index for print

dependent components, and if vocabulary measures fit within the print-independent component or

constitute a new factor (Protopapas, et.al., 2012). The results of the study concluded that instead

of word and nonword reading, it is accuracy and fluency that indicate reading comprehension

variance in the print-dependent component. Vocabulary also fits perfectly with listening

comprehension, and can be construed as components rather than distinct skills.

One study emphasized that the use of cloze reading tests, rampant as they are in reading

comprehension tests around the world, are not widely understood in terms of what it measures or

what impact it brings (Sadeghi, 2014). This study further pushed the possibilities of cloze reading

procedures and designed a “phrase-cloze” test and administered it to EFL learners. The results

showed that it did not fare well similarly with studies using regular cloze word tests.

Scholars had also noticed how most of reading comprehension tests are constructed in light of the

reading skills it intends to measure. The designs of these tests are also configured specifically to

benefit from item analysis. A group of scholars decided to develop reading comprehensions tests
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beyond the assessment of skills, but also aligning reading comprehension with cognitive abilities

(Dagostino, et.al., 2014). The study did a parallel of reading comprehension and the classification

in Bloom’s Taxonomy of the cognitive dimension. The researchers found it sufficient to assess

their cognitive levels in light of their reading abilities.

A study investigated on how the measures of decoding, fluency and comprehension in middle

school levels interact with one another; whether it overlaps between struggling and typical readers,

or the relative frequency of reading difficulties (Cirino, et.al., 2013). Results show that numbers

of students with specific comprehension problems were lower than initially thought out in recent

consensus reports. 85% of middle school struggling readers do not meet national standards, and

most of them have problems on decoding and fluency. Moreover, the relationship of different

reading components varies with struggling and typical readers.

Retell has often been used as a means of assessing reading comprehension, particularly in early

readers. A study sought out to assess the validity of retell assessment procedures in reading

comprehension. While the study showed significant gains and correlations between retell and

standardized comprehension measures, it was yet inadequate as a monitoring instrument (Reed

and Vaughn, 2012).

In an analysis of three reading tests, it was found that each of these tests demanded specific reading

processes. The WJPC test demanded orthographic processing and working memory skills, the

CBM Maze Test exerted processing on fluency and vocabulary, while the Recall test exerted
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processing on phonological processing, orthographic processing and working memory skills

(Kendeou, Papadopoulos, and Spanoudis, 2012).

It had been a long standing idea in reading research that text types and question types affect the

comprehension of readers. There are other factors weighing in as well, and one study investigated

how two examples of these factors – reader characteristics such as syntactic and semantic

awareness, inferencing, planning/ organizing– are affecting question and text types n (Eason, et.al.,

2012). Using children aged 10-14 as subjects of the study, they concluded that there are

relationships between question types and reader characteristics. Also, the higher the question goes

as thinking skills are concerned, the more important it is for later elementary and middle school

students.

Reading in the Primary Levels

In the primary levels, reading comprehension is understood as an interaction of word decoding and

listening comprehension. It is also assumed that the lack of capability to comprehend oral language

puts a strain in a young reader’s reading comprehension. One study sought to verify these

assumptions and set out an experimental study to provide empirical evidence to this theory

(Verhoeven and Leeuwe, 2012). The study finds out that the impact of word decoding on reading

comprehension decreases as the grade level progresses, and while listening comprehension

increases as grade level increases. This relationship was more apparent with L1 native speakers

than with L2 speakers.

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The Simple View of Reading had been consistently used to define RC instruction in the primary

levels. One study examines this framework and extends this on the late primary level students

(Grades 4-6) pupils with different home backgrounds and between English language learners and

monolinguals (Farnia and Geva, 2013). More specifically, the study modeled comprehension

trajectories, or growth patterns in their RC skills. Results show that “word-level reading and all

components of language (vocabulary, syntax and listening comprehension) remained stable

predictors of Grade 6 reading comprehension. Grade 1 phonological awareness, naming speed and

working memory predicted reading comprehension n Grade 6, as did Grade 4 phonological short-

term memory”.

Exposing young children to print material early on in their reading instruction also helps prevent

reading difficulties later in their schooling. One study conducted a randomized-controlled trial of

preschool classes. The teachers in one class made verbal and nonverbal references to print reading

material. A control class experiences the usual preschool reading style (Piasta, et.al., 2012). The

use of print references also showed significant impact on their early literacy skills (reading,

spelling and comprehension).

While most studies on RC focus on the short-term as it affects reading skills for academic

achievement, much is yet to be desired in terms of studying RC’s long-term effects. A meta-

analysis of studies looking at this factor suggest that “overall comprehension and phonemic

awareness interventions showed good maintenance of effect that transferred to nontargeted skills,

whereas phonics and phonemic awareness and those for kindergarten children tended not to”
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(Suggate, 2016). In other words, more comprehension-oriented skills are retained from reading

instruction while early reading skills like word comprehension fade in time.

In the study of reading in relation to cognitive processes, the concept of executive functioning

refers to a “set of higher-order, core cognitive processes that facilitate planning, problem solving,

and the initiation and maintenance of goal-directed behavior.” (Kieffer, Vukovic, and Berry, 2013)

Executive functioning was observed to be a crucial factor in early reading as well as in middle

childhood, specifically in the attributes of attention shifting and inhibitory control. Results in a

path analysis study concludes that attention shifting and inhibitory control were significantly

associated with reading comprehension. One study found also out that working memory problems

in children reflect a core deficit in the central executive functions of their brain. In the

aforementioned study, it was observed that they had pervasive deficits in the simple and complex

span tasks, and had poorer abilities to coordinate two cognitive demanding tasks (Wang and

Gathercole, 2013).

Another finding with reading in relation to cognitive processes is how reading activates prior

experiences when faced with “anomalous continuation of the linguistic stream” (Metusalem,

2012). In other words, any given association readers have towards certain unknowns in reading is

automatically generated by what readers know about that knowledge, which continues to their

language processing capacities.

A study was also conducted on fourth graders’ eye processing on text and graphics on an illustrated

science text, meant to discover patterns of visual behavior, as examined considering individual
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differences in reading text by measuring free recall, factual knowledge, and transfer of knowledge

(Mason, Tomatora and Pluchino, 2013). The link between processing and learning was also

examined. Significant associations between eye-tracking data and reading comprehension and

prior knowledge emerged. Moreover, the three patterns of visual behavior were significantly

related to students’ performances in the various learning talks at both testing times., The greater

integrative processing of the illustrated text was associated with higher learning performances.

Certain reading aspects are lost within a child’s development. In one study, it has been found that

list reading as uniquely related to reading comprehension in Grade 1, but not in Grade 2 after

accounting for text reading fluency and listening comprehension. On the other hand, text reading

fluency was not related to reading comprehension in Grade 2, but not in Grade 1 after considering

list reading fluency and listening comprehension (Kim, Wagner and Lopez, 2012).

The proposition that technology is sufficient to motivate reading had been supported in the

literature., A study showed that when given an opportunity to experience reading eBooks, early

readers are left to be more motivated and engaged in reading (Ciampa, 2012). Computer-based

environments also provide significant gains in reading comprehension performance, particularly

for low-achieving learners (Ponce, Lopez and Mayer, 2012). In one study, a group of

underachieving readers received a guided silent reading intervention and the results exhibited

significant differences between pre-tests and post-tests, as well as compared with control groups

(Reutzel, Spichtig and Petscher, 2012).

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However, in a rather controversial twist in reading research, one study sought to find out if

achievement in offline and online reading abilities differ in economic privilege, or the lack of it

(Leu, et.al., 2014). The study concludes that learners from economically advantaged places achieve

better scores in both offline and online reading settings, given that they are granted more access to

reading opportunities. Another study recorded significant results from students who read in print

than those who read texts digitally (Mangen, Walgermo and Bronnick, 2013).

A study examines the longitudinal predictors of nonword decoding, reading, fluency and spelling

in three languages that vary in orthographic depth – Finnish, Greek, and English (Georgiou, et.al,

2010). An experimental setup with Grade 1 and Grade 2 classes were administered with early

measures before the conduct of the test. The results showed that the model for nonword decoding

in Greek became similar to Finnish, and the model for Greek spelling was near to English. Letter

knowledge became a predictor for all languages.

Reading is sometimes affected by the noise in the environment, lending challenges to

comprehension, notwithstanding the variability of understanding between speakers. It has been a

curiosity for researchers to understand the variability of language, where even coming from

various backgrounds, language remains to be understood as it was meant to be One study explores

this idea, stating that language comprehenders “rapidly adapt to the syntactic statistics of novel

linguistic environments” (Fine, Jaeger, Farmer, and Quan, 2013). It was found that most

comprehenders rapidly adapt to changes in unexpected syntactical structures.

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One study looked at the relationship between mind wandering and age, using text comprehension

as covariate (Krawietz, Tampalin and Radvansky, 2012). The study tested two hypotheses. The

first, the decoupling hypothesis, stated that people with lower working memory control are more

prone to mind wandering than those with greater memory working control. The study found that

they were more inconsistent with the other hypothesis, executive account control, claiming that

age affects mind wandering.

Another finding on reading for disabled children was that they performed better on tests regarding

sound blending than sound manipulation (Marshall, Christo and Davis, 2013). Studies have shown

that they performed significantly on phonological processing than with blending words. In

addition, analysis of results should not focus on composite scores on these kinds of tests, as it bears

no significant relationship with the population and each individual must be assessed to his/her own

respective disability.

Reading intervention works better when participants are divided into subgroups with specific

reading activities (McMaster, et.al., 2012). In one study, reading intervention participants were

divided into their level of reading performance and within three intervention activities: causal

questioning, general questioning and literal conditioning (5 W’s and 1H). Differential effects were

observed in causal and general questioning activity participants. A study also tested out a training

program aimed to work out mind working memory processes on resading comprehension and

intelligence (Madruga, et.al., 2013). The training program showed significant gains from the

control group in both intelligence and reading comprehension pre-tests and post-tests.
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There has been an increasing importance of learning academic vocabulary in schools, and by

extension of academic language proficiency. There had also been a growing body of research in

the nature of demands that continually change on readers and writers, especially with academic

interventions (Nagy and Townsend, 2012). A study coins the term “words-as-tools” to illustrate

this paradigm shift in academic language that academic words are tools for communicating and

thinking in disciplinary contexts.

Motivation is usually a reading characteristic that both teachers and researchers had been working

out on. Studies have shown girls are more engaged in reading than boys, and several instructional

practices perform much significantly than other (Wigfield, Gladstone and Turci, 2016).

In the context of knowledge and epistemic beliefs, one study differentiated learners between

students with high knowledge and low justification abilities of their claims, and the students with

the opposite configuration (Ferguson and Braten, 2013). Groups associated with the latter had

varying beliefs on the authority in the multiplicity of sources. It was a subset in this same group

that ranked higher in a comprehension test in the aforementioned study.

While the findings for reading comprehension show promise for those who start to read early, there

remains to be a redeeming opportunity to those who start late, or are unable to read early on.

In a cohort study of early children readers and late children readers, findings show hope and

promise for late starters. It was found that for children who started reading earlier generally caught

up and even got generally higher comprehension ratings than early readers. Although, the former
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consistently had more superior letter naming, non-word, word and passage reading skills (Suggate,

Schaughency, and Reese, 2012). It has also been noticed that moderately intellectually disable

readers do not have much access to age-appropriate texts as with their more abled counterparts. It

was found that the literature they had access to were beyond age appropriate comprehension. A

study was hence conducted to assess whether picture books and read-alouds that are age

appropriate improved the comprehension of moderately intellectually disabled students (Shurr and

Taber-Doughty, 2012). The results showed a variety of improved performances.

In the case of reading instruction, it is not enough for only the readers to improve on their skills.

Teachers must also build on their skills through coaching and continual professional development

(Pomerantz and Pierce, 2012). This professional improvement and coaching would eventually

redound to the reading skills of students.

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Chapter 3

Methodology of the Study

This chapter presents the methods and techniques as well as the details on the procedures to be

used in the conduct of the study.

Methods and Techniques Used

The present study works on a quantitative, descriptive-correlational research framework. As

defined by Creswell (2014), correlational designs enable researchers “to use the correlational

statistic to describe and measure the degree or association (or relationship) between two or more

variables or sets of scores”. In other words, it will seek to find links or relationship between two

or more data sets using appropriate statistical tests. This study is also non-experimental in nature,

and would utilize a survey instrument to complement existing document data.

Respondents of the Study

The respondents of the study would be pupils coming from the Grade 6 level of Norzagaray West

District. The school currently has six sections, with a total of 80 pupils. All of these pupils will be

selected for the pilot testing of the reading comprehension test. On the other hand, the pilot class

of the Grade 5 level will be the test-takers for the pre-test and post-test of the initial reading

comprehension test.
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Instrument of the Study

The study would develop a reading comprehension test based on national content and performance

standards. The test, initially projected to be 30 items, would be tested for internal validity via item

analysis and Chronbach alpha. On the other hand, external validity would be measured via locally

created survey form to be administered to reading instructors and experts.

Data Gathering Procedure

The following steps will be followed to pursue the goals of the present study:

1. The researcher will construct an initial test.

2. The test would first undergo internal validity. A small class that will be selected for the

pre-test and post-test will closely monitor the examination.

3. The results of the pre-test would be analyzed via item analysis. A second copy of the test

will be secured for external validity.

4. The second copy will then be evaluated by selected reading experts and/or instructors. The

results of the survey will be considered for the third revision of the test.

5. After the third revision, the test will be submitted for the post-test phase in the same class

as earlier.

6. The results of the exam would be analyzed using Chronbach alpha to determine internal

consistency of items. The exam would be revised accordingly.

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7. The final revision of the exam would then be administered to the Grade 6 pupils. The results

would be analyzed by reading comprehension topics and skills that had been earlier thought

out as content and performance standards.

Data Processing and Statistical Treatment

For the results of the survey evaluation of reading teachers and/or experts, the data would be

analyzed via measures of central tendency to identify the quality of the test in key areas. On the

other hand, the pilot testing of the reading comprehension test would be statistically analyzed via

Analysis of Variance. Since the Grade 6 level of Norzagaray West District has four classes, the

test of Analysis of Variance would better present the differences of reading comprehension in the

Grade 6 level, particularly in specific reading comprehension standards.