Preparation of speed-and-comprehension reading materials for Grade VI pupils in Region VI

Abstract

This study is part of an attempt to prepare and validate reading materials to develop and improve the speed-and-comprehension of Grade VI pupils in Region VI. The reading materials contained in this particular report are the 15th and 16th lessons in a series of eighteen. These lessons are intended for the fourth rating period.

A total of 208 grade six children are chosen at random in the central and three barrio schools in the District of Dao, Division of Capiz, composed the whole sample. One hundred twenty pupils participated in the speed-and-comprehension test, and eighty-eight pupils took the cloze tests given from February 25 to March 1, 1985.

Answers to the following questions were sought:

1.Do the prepared reading materials reflect the interests of Grade VI children in Region VI? 2. Are the selections appropriate for the target grade? 3. How valid and reliable are the test exercises? Are the distractors functional? 4. Are the pairs of materials meant to be parallel forms really equivalent? 6. Can the materials be easily managed, used, and administered in an ordinary classroom?

To ensure the appropriateness and usability of the reading materials, the following were undertaken

1. Conducting a reading interest inventory, the results of which were taken into consideration in the writing of the selections; 2. Ascertaining appropriateness and readability of the selections by (1) controlling the (a) selection length, (b) vocabulary load, (c) concept load, (d) polysyllabic words; (2) using expert and peer validation; and (3) cloze testing; 3. Analyzing test items by computing for their discriminative and difficulty indices, in order to be assured of their validity; 4. Ensuring the reliability of the test exercises by determining their internal consistency; 5. Obtaining the correlation between the scores of the two forms of reading materials prepared for the same lesson(s); Noting how many of the distractors were actually chosen; 6. Actually conducting a trial session with the use of the materials.

The following are the findings:

1. The selections reflect the children’s reading interests. 2. The pupils were not ready for the close tests made from the reading materials. 3. Only five of the total 180 items needed revision. 4. All the tests, except one, showed substantial or marked consistency. 5. The prepared reading materials appear to be beyond the reading level of the majority of the sample tested. All the distractors in the different test exercises were actually chosen. 6. The two forms of reading materials meant to be parallel do not yield comparable scores. 7. One teacher was able to administer these reading materials in an ordinary classroom setting. In the light of the findings, these conclusions could be drawn: 1. The prepared materials are within the reading interest of the target readers. 2. The sample was not ready to read criterion-based reading materials intended for their level. 3. The speed-and-comprehension tests are reliable and valid. All the distractors are functional. 4. The two forms intended to be equivalent cannot yet be used interchangeably. 5. Successful administration of the speed-and-comprehension materials is feasible.

It is recommended that:

1. The recommended revisions on some reading selections and test exercises be effected. 2. The materials be given another trial, region-wide, each to be used at the instructional period for which it was prepared. 3. To ascertain further the reliability of the test exercises, they should be subjected to a more appropriate statistical tool when another trial testing is undertaken.