ILOILO – In this province which has almost half a million learners, an estimated 42,000 from kindergarten to high school are considered “frustration level” readers. “They can recognize some words but they lack comprehension,” according to Dr. Roel Bermejo, superintendent of the Iloilo Schools Division.
In the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory Manual – a reading assessment tool of the Department of Education (DepEd) – there are three reading levels. These are the frustration level, instructional level and independent level.
Frustration reading level is a stage where “readers find reading materials so difficult that they cannot successfully respond to them.”
According to Bermejo, majority of the frustration level readers in Iloilo were between Grade 1 and Grade 6.
There were many factors why this was so, he stressed.
Some of these learners may be special children with special needs but enrolled in regular classes.
The family’s socioeconomic status may also be a factor, said Bermejo. Learners from poor families were likely to miss classes more often to help their parents make a living.
Another factor could be the parents’ lack of interest in how their children were faring in school, said Bermejo.
DepEd’s goal is to improve the reading comprehension of these learners.
How?
According to Bermejo, they are starting with the teachers both in elementary and high school – they are being trained how to conduct remedial reading classes.
There are 987 public elementary schools and 179 public secondary schools in the province.
The frustration level readers must become instructional level readers and eventually independent level readers.
Under the instructional reading level, readers profit the most from teacher-directed instruction in reading while under the independent reading level, readers function on their own with almost perfect oral reading and excellent comprehension.
Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. said the provincial government is ready to help the Iloilo Schools Division improve the reading comprehension of learners such as getting more remedial reading teachers.
He also did not discount the possibility that overcrowding in classrooms may also be a factor in the poor reading comprehension of learners.
“Posible indi matutokan sang teacher ang mga kabataan ilabi pa kon madamo sila sa classroom,” said Defensor./PN
Why do elementary students failed in reading comprehension because of some teachers are very lazy to teach and they are always absent in their class sessions. Sometimes their emergency meeting fall on the class hour’s. Why they didn’t make it after the classes! They just returned to their class 1 hour or 2 hours left of their teaching time. This things always happening in Don Jose A Locsin Elementary School and nearby School. How can our kid’s learn like we learned when we are still in the same age. Teaching ways now a day’s have a big difference from our time.