Exploring the Level of Grade 7 Students' Reading Proficiency in Comparison to the Norm

Abstract

Reading comprehension requires specific skills, and improving it entails the collective efforts of the school, teachers, and students. Schools use various assessments to measure students' reading skills to ensure that students are at par with their grade level. This study ascertains the reading proficiency level of 232 Grade 7 students in an international school in Cambodia. The researchers used a quantitative method, and data from the Measure of Academic Progress Test were gathered through the Rasch Unit Scale. The participants are the whole population of grade 7. Furthermore, data were analyzed through arithmetic mean and standard deviation to assess students' proficiency level and identify the goal that should be prioritized for improvement. The results reflected that the majority of the students did not achieve the norm grade level mean Rasch Unit. Moreover, from the five goals, Literary Text: Language, Craft, and Structure should be improved the most. The findings of this study suggest improving all five reading goals with Literary Text: Language, Craft, and Structure as the main priority. Consequently, the results provided significant implications to the school in developing enrichment programs tailored to address the reading goals, teachers in terms of teaching strategies and differentiation, and students preparing for their Advanced Placement course.