Reading comprehension proficiency of grade nine students: a comparative study

Abstract

The thesis entitled ‘Reading Comprehension Proficiency of Grade Nine Students: A Comparative Study’ aimed to find the reading proficiency of students studying in various private and community schools in Ramdhuni Municipality. There are many challenges in teaching reading at the secondary level at community schools. I have chosen this topic for my research to compare the proficiency level of community school students and private school students in Ramdhuni Municipality. The study was carried out using qualitative research especially the survey model of research. The data was collected from 100 students from five community schools and five private schools from Ramdhuni Municipality. To collect the required data, questionnaires are used comprising various texts with test items of reading comprehension. After, the questionnaires are scored and results are drawn and tabulated. Then, the tabulated data are compared, analyzed, and interpreted based on averages and percentages, and finally, the findings of the study are derived. The study showed an overall reading proficiency of 67.24 percent in Ramdhuni Municipality. Private school boys and girls have significantly higher reading proficiency than their community counterparts. They achieved 77.70 percent overall in all tests whereas community school students only achieved 56.78 percent of reading proficiency. LBIESS secured the highest proficiency of 85.38 percent whereas PSS was constantly the lowest of 43.13 percent among all schools. Girls have overall better reading comprehension than boys. The private schools have done an excellent job in reading comprehension. To uplift the conditions of community schools, a higher amount of effort and resources should be managed and implemented effectively. The teachers and the educators need to promote reading habits in students and choose interesting reading materials.