Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic in Reading Comprehension of the

Grade 12 Humanities and Social Sciences students in

Capas Senior High School

prove their reading and writing skills.

Andrada, Khatline

Aquino, Jhared

Calma, Francis Jude

Guinto, Charles

Macale, Mark Adrian

Malonzo, Carla Jane

Mayuyu, Justin

Rivera, Theyle

Sicat, Natalie

Tuagi, Maryrose

Capas National High School Senior High School

January 2024
 1. Introduction
This paper analyzes the effects of COVIS-19 Pandemic on reading comprehension of the

students. On 26 March 2021, a new study was released by the UN cultural agency, reveals that

more than 100 million children are falling behind the minimum proficiency level in reading, due

to COVID-related school closures. These numbers are higher than the expected numbers of

children lacking in basic reading skills.

1.1. Background of the Study

According to the study from the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organization (UNESCO) One year into COVID; Prioritizing education recovery to avoid

a generational catastrophe, even before the pandemic the number of children lacking

basic reading skills was on a downward curve. In 2020, instead of 460 million children

experiencing reading difficulties, that number jumped to 584 million. The rise of more

than 20 percent wiped out two decades of education gains, the agency said.

On 27 November 2022 Phil star global released a headline stating, “Government

urge to boost learnings’ reading proficiency.” MANILA, Philippines – The government

should prioritize programs and interventions that would improve Filipino learners’

proficiency in reading, amid the celebration of National Book Week from Nov. 24 to 30,

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said.

It was also mentioned that in the 2018 Program for International Student

Assessment (PISA), the Philippines scored lowest in Reading out of 79 countries that

participated. Results of the PISA further showed that only one out of five Filipino

learners aged 15 achieved at least the minimum proficiency level in Overall Reading

Literacy. The results of the 2019 Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics, on the other

hand, showed that only 10 percent of the country’s Grade 5 learners achieved the

minimum proficiency at the end of primary education.

1.2. Purpose of the Study

the student’s ability to understand and create literature since the COVID-19 Pandemic. It also

emphasized the importance of continues and face to face learning. The researchers would also

like to find and suggest some alternative strategies to the readers to improve their reading and

writing skills.

1.3. Research Problem

Loss of structure and routine: School closures and disruptions to regular schedules have

caused a loss of structure and routine in students' lives. These changes can make it challenging

for students to establish consistent reading habits and maintain their reading comprehension

abilities.

1.4. Research Objectives

Objective 1. To determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students reading

comprehension skills.

Objective 2. to determine the change in the number of students lacking basic reading

skills before and after the pandemic.

Objective 3. To aim insights into the status of students reading comprehension and

contributing to the development of effective strategies and support systems for students in

the context of the pandemic.

1.5. Research Questions

Question 1. What are the problems faced by the students in reading comprehension

during the pandemic?

Question 2. How has pandemic impacted the number of students who lack basic reading

comprehension skills?

Question 3. What challenges have students cope-up in developing their reading

comprehension abilities?

2. Preliminary Literature Review

The theoretical framework for this study is based on the concept of the COVID-19

pandemic's impact on education. It explores the notion that prolonged school closures, remote

learning, and disrupted educational routines may have affected students' reading comprehension

abilities. This framework is supported by previous literature on the effects of crises and

disruptions on education.

Literature Review:

According to Dole et al., (1991), reading comprehension is a constructive process by

which readers use both cognitive and metacognitive strategies to build their understanding of a

text. Cognitive strategies include the target language and have different methods such as

summarizing and deductive reasoning, predicting, using organization, taking notes on the main

points, using prior knowledge, and guessing meaning from the context (Oxford, 1990).

Metacognitive strategies are actions that allow readers to control their own reading; in other

words, they are strategies based on “thinking about thinking.” That is, the readers know when

and how to use these strategies and adapt them to suit their reading purposes. Metacognitive

strategies involve planning, evaluating, and regulating one’s own skills. These include such skills

as determining the reading task, evaluating the predictions, focusing on important information,

relating important information, ignoring unimportant new words, checking the effectiveness of

guessing meaning, rereading relevant information when failure in understanding, and checking

the effectiveness of achieving the whole reading task (Oxford, 1990).

Inference generation and other language processing skills may be more important for

situation model construction as children progress from primary to secondary grades. Tighe and

Schatschneider (2014), determined that while word reading fluency was the most influential

predictor of reading comprehension for a diverse sample of third-graders, inferential reasoning

had a greater influence on reading comprehension for students in Grades 7 and 10.

Despite evidence that inference generation makes an important contribution to reading

comprehension (e.g., Ahmed et al., 2016; Oakhill & Cain, 2012), relatively few studies have
investigated the impact of explicit inference instruction on the inferential comprehension or

general reading comprehension of either EL or EO struggling readers. Hall (2016) located only

nine peer-reviewed studies published between the earliest indexed year of searched databases

and 2013 that examined the effects of inference instruction relative to a control or business-as-

usual comparison condition on at least one reading comprehension or inference generation

outcome for struggling readers in Grades 1 through Grade 12.

Although all students with reading comprehension difficulties typically demonstrate

difficulties with oral language comprehension (Spencer, Quinn, & Wagner, 2014), ELs with

reading comprehension difficulties tend to have more pronounced oral language comprehension

weaknesses than English-only (EO) students with reading comprehension difficulties (Spencer &

Wagner, 2017).

Synthesis:

In summary, Dole et al. (1991) highlight the constructive nature of reading

comprehension, involving both cognitive and metacognitive strategies. Cognitive methods

include summarizing and deductive reasoning, while metacognitive actions involve planning,

evaluating, and regulating one's own skills. Tighe and Schatschneider (2014) emphasize the

increasing importance of inferential reasoning in reading comprehension as students' progress

through grades, with word reading fluency being influential in early grades and inferential

reasoning gaining prominence in Grades 7 and 10. However, explicit inference instruction's

impact on struggling readers, particularly English Learners (ELs), is understudied (Hall, 2016).

Notably, Spencer et al. (2017) observes that ELs with reading comprehension difficulties often

exhibit more significant oral language comprehension weaknesses compared to English-only

students with similar challenges.

3. Methodology

This section of the research will focus on the respondents, research instruments to be

used, data collection process, and data analysis.

3.1. Respondents
 The study will sample the 10 students in every section of Grade 12 Humanities and

Social Sciences Students of Capas Senior High School.

3.2. Research Instruments

The study intends to do a descriptive survey design using a printed questionnaire as an

instrument administered to the students in determining the levels of the students on reading

comprehension.

3.3. Data Collection

The study will collect both primary and secondary data, and the quantitative data

generated will be analyzed using descriptive statistics which will include percentage distribution,

mean and the frequency counts.

3.4. Data Analysis

The quantitative data from the study will undergo transcription and report in themes and

sub-themes. The relationship between the independent and dependent variables will be explained

through multiple regression.

4. Timeline

This section provides the duration of the tasks needed to complete the study. Therefore,

the study is expected to be completed within 13 weeks (about 3 months).

10/16 10/20 10/24 11/01 11/03 11/08 12/03 01/08 01/13

Gantt Chart Tutorial link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bYnpdQPGvM.

Use the following task in your timeline.

 Title

 Introduction

 Preliminary Literature Review

 Statement of the Problem

 Methodology

 Data gathering and analysis

 Data interpretation and discussion

 Summary, conclusion, and recommendations

 Review for final submission

5. References

Ahmed Y., Francis D. J., York M., Fletcher J. M., Barnes M., Kulesz P. (2016). Validation of the

direct and inferential mediation (DIME) model of reading comprehension in grades 7

through 12. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 44, 68–82.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/11/27/2226666/government-urged-boost-

learners-reading-proficiency

Dole, J.A., Duffy, G.G., Roehler, L.R., & Pearson, P.D. (1991). Moving from the old to the new:

Research on reading comprehension instruction. Review of Educational Research, 61 (2),

239–264.

Hall C. (2016). Inference instruction for struggling readers: A synthesis of intervention research.

Educational Psychology Review, 28, 1–22.

Neil, J. S (2023). Student assessment: Philippines still in bottom 10

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2023/12/06/2316752/student-assessment-philippines-

still-bottom-10

Oxford, R. (1990). Language learning strategies: a synthesis of studies with implications for

strategy training. Systems, 17 (2), 235–257.

Oakhill J., Cain K. (2012). The precursors of reading ability in young readers: Evidence from a

four-year longitudinal study. Scientific Studies of Reading, 16, 91–121.

Spencer M., Quinn J. M., Wagner R. K. (2014). Specific reading comprehension disability:

Major problem, myth, or misnomer? Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 29,3–9.

Torgesen J. K., Wagner R. K., Rashotte C. A. (2012). TOWRE: Test of word reading efficiency,

2nd edition. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.