Reading Comprehension and Mathematical Performance of Grade 4 Pupils in Kipalili

Elementary School

Jessie C. Lamsin
Kipalili Elementary School
ABSTRACT
Mathematics is a fundamental subject in Philippine elementary education. The low competency of
students in Mathematics needs to be addressed. The correlation between the mathematical and reading
skills of Grade 4 pupils is established. Twenty-five students were used in the study wherein their
mathematics grade was correlated to their PhilIri status. Most of the students have good grades in Math
however majority of the students are poor in reading. The main result of the study showed that there is a
weak relationship (r= -0.786) while there is no significance between the variables (F=21.013, p<0.05)
between the two variables. This shows that being able to read math problems does not necessarily mean
that they can decode and answer them. This calls for a more effective programs and teaching
techniques.

INTRODUCTION
Mathematics is one of the primary subjects in Philippine Elementary education.
Being one of the foundation subjects which is essential in further studies, mathematics
is must be if not understood mastered. However, despite this importance many Filipino
elementary pupils still suffer from low competency in mathematics. This fact is evident in
the low Mean Percentage Score (MPS) of elementary pupils in the National
Achievement Test (NAT).
From 2006-2009, the NAT results of Filipino students, elementary and secondary,
registered a low mastery of 75 percent (Imam et al., 2013). Moreover, Filipino second
year high school students ranked 41 st out of 46 math participants in a International
Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) (Caoli-Rodriguez, 2008). The performance of
Filipino students on Mathematics can also be studied in the regional level. According to
the NAT-MPS of Region 11 during the competency of elementary pupils slightly
increased in 2008 and 2007. This is after a decrease in 2006 (PIA, 2009). Although, the
MPS of the region is above its target during the said year, it is still below the national
and international targets. The low reading competency, among others, is the main factor

which the Department of Education cited as the primary factor in the low competency of
the pupils in Math (Rimando, 2006).
Aside from Math abilities, reading is also a fundamental subject in primary
learning. Reading place an important role in the early years of learning for it paves the
way for higher competency in other learning areas including Math (Snow, Burns and
Griffith, 1998). Furthermore, Reading and Mathematics must go together although it
must also be noted that each pupils develop math and reading skills at varying rates
(Fuentes, 2012). Despite this established relationship between subjects, more
information is still needed regarding the correlation of the two variables.
Establishing the correlation of math skills with the reading competencies is of
great importance. This is the main objective of this study. Furthermore, the specific
questions of this study includes:
1. What is the level of the Reading ability of the students?
2. What is the level Mathematical ability of Grade 4 pupils of Kipalili Elementary
School?
3. Is there a significant relationship between Reading comprehension and
Mathematical Performance of the Grade 4 pupils?
METHODS
The study used the descriptive-correlation research design. It is used to describe
the relationship between the reading competency and the performance in Mathematics
of the Grade 4 pupils of Kipalili Elementary School (KES). Twenty-five (25) students
under the said Grade level for the Academic Year 2013-2014 were used. The
Mathematics grades of the students were used. On the other hand, the PhilIri scores of
the pupils were used to establish the reading competency of the students. The two
variables were correlated using the SPSS ver. 16 in order to establish the relationship.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
This study wanted to establish the correlation of the mathematical skills of
students to their reading competency. The reading ability of the students are shown in
Table 1.0

Table. 1. Level Reading Comprehension of the Grade 4 pupils of Kipalili Elementary

School.

PhilIri Status
Independent
Intructional
Frustration
Non-reader

Frequency
3
7
15
0

Percentage (%)
12
28
60
0

The students have low competency in Reading. Most of the students belong to
the frustration group. There was a decreasing trend across the groups. The poor
performance of the pupils in reading can be related to the main effects of the various
reading programs which the DepEd and other stakeholders pour into our schools
(Sinsuat-Imam, 2009). This shows that students need more attention in teaching
Reading. Moreover, the stakeholders must push for more effective instructional
materials and teaching methods.
The competency of the Grade 4 pupils in Mathematics varied. Their numerical
grade is classified into four groups. On the other hand, those within the range of 75-79,
80-84 and 85-above is further classified into the Fair, Good, Very Good and Excellent
categories respectively. Table 2 shows the Grade 4 pupils in Math.
Table 2. Mathematical ability of Grade 4 pupils.
Points
1
2
3
4

Qualitative
Description
Fair
Good
Very Good
Excellent

Grade Range

Frequency

Percentage (%)

91-95
86-90
81-85
75-80

0
9
12
4

0%
36%
48%
16%

The majority of the pupils belong to the Good category (80-84 grade range)
while no one was considered as poor in Math (Table 2). This result affirms the strong
efforts of the Department of Education strengthen the learnings of the students
especially in the field of Math. Furthermore this increasing trend can also be seen not
only in the school-level but also in the regional level as represented by the slightly
increasing MPS of Region 11 in the National Achievement Test.
One of the primary factors which affect the mathematical competency of
elementary pupils is reading comprehension. Other studies also support this hypothesis
(Callahan, 1998; Fuentes, 2012; Roberson and Summerlin, 2005). Figure 2 below
presents the reading competency of the class.

Establishing the competency of the pupils in both Reading and Math is not
enough. The two variables must be correlated in order to find out whether the skills in
both the subjects affect one another. Figure 3 shows the ANOVA values between the
two variables. Significant values represent the presence of difference between the two
variables.

Table 3. Test of correlation of the economic status and the survival rate of the cohort
group.

Reading
Comprehensio
n and
Mathematical
Performance

Pearson rvalue

p-value

25

-0.786

0.000

Remarks

Significant

The two variables rendered statistically significant (F= 21.013, p<0.05) in favor of
the presence of difference between the two variables. This means that there exists a
significant difference between the two variables. Furthermore, the correlation analysis of
the variables also support the hypothesis (Figure 4). The correlation of the variables
showed weak relationship (Pearson value = -0.789). The presence of significance (p=
0.000 < 0.05) supports the said hypothesis.
ANOVA
MS

Between
Groups
Within
Groups

Sum of
Squares
196.917
103.083

df
2

Mean
Square
98.458

22

4.686

F
21.013

Sig.
.000

Total

300.000

24

Fig. 3. ANOVA values between the Reading and Math skills of the Grade 4 pupils.
Overall analysis showed that the reading skill of a student does not necessarily
support to their mathematical competency. Although there is a correlation it is not
strong. It is also striking to point out the inverse relationship of the variables. Most of the
students are good in math however it is not correlated to their reading skills since most
are considered as frustrated category. This study is further supported by the studies
conducted by Villa (2009) and Imam et al., (2013). The two studies point out the
absence of strong correlation between the reading and math skills of students both in
elementary and high school. This further means that a student may be able to read and
understand word problems but may not necessarily mean that the student can decode
mathematical problems. This indicates that aside from just being able to read students
need other skills which is important for them to be able to fully overcome mathematical
problems.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
This study focused on the relationship between the reading and the mathematical
skills of the Grade 4 pupils of Kipalili Elementary School. The researchers came up with
the following conclusions:
1. Majority of the students have good grades in Mathematics.
2. The pupils are mostly under the frustrated category according to the PhilIri
result which measures their reading ability.
3. Statistical analysis showed a weak relationship between the two variables.
Although there exists a relationship between the variables it is weak and is not
significantly correlated. This shows that aside from the reading skill there are still other
skills which are nedded by students in order to fully understand and decode
mathematical problems.
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