Reading Strategies Used by the High-Performing and Low-Performing Students: A Basis for a Workplan in School Reading Program

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Reading skills are innate, they are natural. But the ability to read better is achievable through the utilization of reading strategies. Students, to be effective and superior readers, must be conscious and aware of their own thought processes. Teachers, to be effective facilitators, must have a firm and solid grasp of the reading strategies of learners. Reading is one of the main four skills that a learner needs to master in order to ensure success in learning. According to Anderson (2003), it is the interaction of four things: the reader, the text, the fluent reading, and strategic reading.

METHODS

This study is a descriptive-survey research. It adapted the Survey of Reading Strategies (SORS) by Mokhatri & Sheorey (2002), which was develop to measure the metacognitive awareness and perceived use of reading strategies of adolescent and adult learners of English as a second language while reading academic text.

RESULTS

The results show that high-performing students used more reading strategies than the low-performing students when reading academic texts. Furthermore, high-performing and low-performing students in Palo Alto Integrated School differ in their utilization of reading strategies. High-performing students employ more problem-solving strategies than low-performing students who use more global strategies Low-performers barely use context clues in understanding the text they are reading. Overall, the level of utilization of the reading strategies is in medium level if scores are combined. On the other hand, if taken separately, high-performers have higher level of utilization in the three subscales: global, problem-solving and support strategies. There is a significant difference between the high-performing and low-performing students of Palo Alto in their utilization of reading strategies.

DISCUSSIONS

The result demonstrate the need to intensify efforts to train students to use reading strategies that can help them to improve their reading skills. This would also help in crafting a work plan for a school reading program.