The Effects of Remedial Reading Instruction in Improving the Reading Ability of Grade 2 Non-Readers Specifically on Word Recognition and Fluency in English

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

In line with this institutionalized programs by Department of Education which enforce the policy that every child a reader by Grade 3, this Action Research, will be focusing on the 50 Grade 2 non-readers of Pasong Buaya II Elementary School to achieve the desired reading skill appropriate to their level. This research aims to improve the reading ability specifically on word recognition and fluency in English by at least 60% of 50 non-readers in the 2nd Grade of Pasong Buaya II Elementary School at the end of December 16, 2016.

METHODS

During the study, Grade two pupils took the Phil-IRI Pretest and Post test to measure their reading levels. The study employed the Continuous Improvement (CI) Methodology which has three Phases: assess, analyze and act. Focused Group Discussions were also conducted during the study. The CI team crafted the solution implementation plan after identifying the real needs of the pupils. The following interventions were done during the study. First, pupils were identified and grouped according to their reading ability. They were categorized as Beginning/Sounds, CVC, Basic Sight Words, Phrases and Sentences. Individualized remedial reading instructions were done by different remedial reading instruction teachers. Pilot testing was conducted for two weeks for 18 randomly selected Grade 2 non-readers. After reviewing the results, the roll-out plan was implemented to the rest of the non-readers.

RESULTS

Results of the Phil-IRI Post-test in English (Oral) for SY 2016-2017 revealed that there were still 16 or 10% of 159 Grade 2 pupils were non-readers. Whereas, the Pretest showed that 50 (31%) of 162 Grade 2 pupils were non-readers. Therefore, there was an increase of 68% from the Pretest after the conduct of the Remedial Reading Instruction under the Continuous Improvement process.

DISCUSSIONS

This action research study investigated the research question: "What is the effect of remedial reading instruction in improving the reading ability of Grade 2 non-readers specifically on word recognition and fluency in English?" After the pilot testing the result showed that 11 out of 18 randomly selected pupils became readers. The Phil-IRI Posttest was conducted after the roll-out. Results revealed that 23out of 39 non-readers who were involved in the roll-out became also readers.