Evaluation of the the Effects of the 8-Week Learning Recovery Program on Pupils’ Reading Competencies in Mother Tongue, Filipino and English

Janice F. Dianela, Kristine Anne R. Mercado, Michael P. Vale, Kuh V. Paterno, PhD

Partido State University, College of Education Goa, Camarines Sur, Philippines

DOI: https://doi.org/10.51244/IJRSI.2023.1011010

Received: 23 October 2023; Revised: 04 November 2023; Accepted: 09 November 2023; Published: 30 November 2023

ABSTRACT

The 8-Week Learning Recovery Program is a program meant to address learning loss and close the gap from current skills to expected literacy and numeracy skills that would help early-grade learners progress better. This is done trough a series of  lectures and activities in literacy and numeracy. This study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of the 8-Week Learning Recovery Program in Taytay Elementary School, Goa, Camarines Sur by looking at the pretest and posttest results in the reading performance of the Grade 3 learners in English, Filipino, and Mother tongue. Using quasi-experimental research methods with two groups under investigation, Grade 3 section A pupils as the experimental group and Grade 3 section B pupils as the control group, paired-sample t-tests show that after the intervention, Grade 3 section A pupils had shown higher reading competencies in English, Filipino and Mother tongue than Grade 3 section B pupils under the control group. After analyzing the data, the Filipino subject got the highest scores, followed by MTB-MLE and English. This improvement can be attributed to the effectiveness of the reading intervention program. With this, intervention programs like the 8-Week LRC should be sustained and others with similar features that address learning gaps may be implemented as well.

Keywords: Effects, 8-Week Learning Recovery Program, Reading Competencies

INTRODUCTION

The difficulty in reading competencies in the Philippines appeared to be perennial. Due to such challenges, reading and literacy teaching have always come first in all Philippine school curricula. (Umali, 2016).

According to Herrera (2022), during the 2019 pandemic, the Department of Education (DepEd) revealed low basic literacy skills among elementary school students as they transcend to full implementation of face-to-face classes after two years of distance learning. DepEd recognized that the pandemic hurt the literacy development of young kids as they even received criticism from struggling students. Dr. Ramir B. Uytico, regional director for DepEd-6, added that examinations revealed some kids were already having difficulty reaching the minimal level of literacy proficiency, indicating that the pandemic has already regressed student development.

DepEd Regional Memorandum No. 74, s. 2022, drives the implementation of the 8-Week Learning Recovery Program in Grades 1–3 for the school year 2022–2023. The Department of Education, Regional Office No. V, through the Curriculum and Learning Management Division, immediately began a number of activities to ensure the seamless and timely implementation of major programs, projects, and activities along Region V’s Recovery Plan in literacy and numeracy. Priority was given to the learning needs in the early grades (Grades 1-3) for the School Year 2022-2023 which involved the implementation of the following activities in collaboration with ABC+ Advancing Basic Education in the Philippines.

The Schools Division Offices are required to support the core teacher-writers, editors, validators, and managers/supervisors in Mother Tongue,  Filipino, English, and Mathematics. The goal of this training series is to build assessment tools in Grades 1-3. The regional office conducted the initial results of the program’s post-assessment and evaluation last October, according to DepEd-V Director Gilbert Sadsad.

The Comprehensive Rapid Literacy Assessment (CRLA), a reading exam developed to help teachers quickly evaluate the reading profiles of their Grades 1-3 learners and develop suitable reading teaching techniques, was used for the first assessment and evaluation of the program. This program is intended for these pupils, particularly those who have suffered learning losses as a result of the pandemic.

DepEd Bicol is implementing a learning recovery program to overcome learning gaps induced by the pandemic. To boldly address the learning loss caused by the pandemic among Bicolano pupils, the Department of Education (DepEd) Bicol began developing its Learning Recovery Program. DepEd Bicol Director Gilbert Sadsad explained that the RAISE: R5 Learning Recovery Program (Recovering for Academic Achievement by Improving Instruction through Sustainable Evidence-based Learning Programs), was conceptualized to assist pupils in catching up and accelerating their learning after years of disruption due to COVID19. In a conference, DepEd Regional Director Gilbert Sadsad said Bicol was the first region in the country to develop a Learning Recovery Program.

The implementation of the 8-Week Learning Recovery Program has a significant increase in the number of pupils whose basic numeracy and literacy skills have improved after attending a series of remediation activities (Sadsad, 2022).

Sanchez (2013) stated that in the Philippines, using one’s mother tongue gives youngsters an equal opportunity to access and assist learning. According to studies, one of the most essential variables in helping children learn to read and write, as well as academic content and other languages, is the use of a child’s native language.

This study focused on the effectiveness of the learning recovery program among pupils. All data are sourced and collected from Grade 3 pupils of Taytay, Elementary School.

Research Questions  

This study aims to determine the effect of the 8-Week Learning Recovery Program on the pupils’ reading competencies in Taytay Elementary School. This study sought to answer the following:

1. What are the reading competencies of the pupils in Mother Tongue, Filipino, and English before and after the implementation of the program?
2. Is there a significant difference in the reading competencies of the pupils pre and after the program?
3. Is there a significant difference in the pre- and post-test reading competencies improvement of the pupils in Mother Tongue, Filipino, and English?
4. How effective is the 8-Week Learning Recovery Program?

METHODOLOGY

Research Design

To test the objective hypotheses, quantitative research was used to look at the relationships, between the different variables (Creswell &Creswell, 2017). This study used a nonequivalent (pretest and posttest) quasi-experimental control group design.  In analyzing the pre and post-test in reading competencies of the Grade 3 pupils of Taytay Elementary School as well as the effects of the 8-week Learning Recovery Program on their reading competencies in Mother Tongue, Filipino, and English.

Participants

This study has forty (40) participants, twenty (20) each for the control and experimental groups. The participants were all grade 3 elementary pupils. This type of sampling strategy is typically used in a quasi-experimental design (Leavy, 2017). She also indicated that equivalent scores in the pre-test may be achieved by the process of matching, with one pair placed in the control group and the other in the experimental group.

Data Gathering Procedure

The researchers sent a request letter to the principal of Taytay Elementary School to access the data needed for secondary data in this study.  With the assistance of the teachers in Taytay Elementary School, this study asked permission from the parents of Grade 3 pupils to implement the program. After the pre and post-test of the 8-week curriculum, the researchers sought permission to have a copy of the data and apply both descriptive and inferential statistics to identify the pre- and post-reading competencies of the pupils and analyze whether the Learning Recovery Program is effective in improving the reading competencies of the pupils in Mother tongue, Filipino and English.

In the data being asked, the researcher ensured the anonymity of the pupils, and no names were included in the data to be given.

Research Instruments

In implementing 8-Week Learning Recovery Program,  the teacher used the Comprehensive Rapid Literacy Assessment (CRLA), a reading exam developed to help teachers quickly evaluate the reading profiles of their Grades 1-3 learners and develop suitable reading teaching techniques, was used for the first assessment and evaluation. The researcher utilized secondary data for this study of the program.

Statistical Tools

The researchers utilized both descriptive and inferential statistics in this study.

In identifying the entry level reading competencies of the pupils in Mother tongue, Filipino and English, the researchers will utilize descriptive statistics. In identifying the post reading competencies of the pupils in Mother tongue, Filipino and English, the researchers will also utilized descriptive statistics. However, in identifying if there is a significant difference in the pre and post reading competencies of the pupils in Mother tongue, Filipino and English, the researchers will utilize Two Sample T-Test. Finally, in identifying if there is a significant difference in the pre and post reading competencies improvement of the pupils in their Mother tongue, Filipino and English, the researchers will utilize the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). York (2017) detailed the steps for testing a hypothesis with the paired-samples t-test when a researcher has matching pretest and post-test scores for one group of participants.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 1: Summary of Pre-test and Post-test scores of pupils in English, Filipino and MTB-MLE

Legend

Full Intervention  (1-7)                                 Moderate Intervention (8-15)

Light Intervention( 16-22)                            Grade Ready ( 23 And Above)

Table 1 shows the Pre and Post test scores of the pupils in English, Filipino and MTB-MLE. For Section A, their pre-test scores in English is 4 for all the competencies, whereas for Section B got a score of 6 for Big Letter Sound Produced and Small Letter Named and a score of 5 for Big Letter Named and Small Letter Sound Produced. For Section B, their post-test scores in English is 24 for Big Letter Named, Big Sound Produce and Small Letter Named, and a score of 23 for Small Letter Sound Produced, whereas for Section B they scored 16 for Big Letter Named, Big Letter Sound Produced and Small Letter Sound Produced, and for Small Letter Named they got a score of 15.

In Filipino, for Section A, the pre-test scores of pupils are 5 for Big Letter Named, Big Letter Sound Produced, and Small Letter Named Produced, whereas for Small Letter Sound they got a score of 4. For Section B, they got a score of 7 for Big Letter Sound Produced and Small Letter Named, whereas 6 for Big Letter Named and a score of 5 for Small Letter Sound Produced. For Section A, the post-test scores of pupils are 26 for the competencies Big Letter Named, Big Letter Sound Produced and Small Letter Named and a score of 25 for Small Letter Sound produced. For section B, the scores are 18 for Big Letter Named, Big Letter Sound Produced and Small Letter Named, whereas for Small Letter Sound Produced, the score is 17.

In MTB-MLE Section A, the pre-test scores of pupils for Big Letter Sound Produced and Small Letter Sound Produced is 5, whereas they scored 4 for Big Letter Named and Small Letter Named. For Section B, the pupils got a score of 5 for Big Letter Sound Produced, Small Letter Named and Small Letter Sound Produced, while they got a score of 4 for Big Letter Named. Section A scores in Small Letter Named and Small Letter Sound Produced got a score of 26, whereas Big Letter Named and Big Letter Sound Produced got a score of 25.  For Section B, the pupils got a score of 19 for Big Letter Sound Produced, whereas for Big Letter Named and Small Letter Named got a score of 18, while in Small Letter Sound got a score of 17. It implies that  Section A and Section B performed well during the Post Test. However, Section A performed better than Section B.

One of the highlights of the R5-LRP in its first year of implementation is the development of a contextualized curriculum that is designed as a learning remediation and intervention program on teaching literacy and numeracy to Grades 1, 2, and 3 learners who have been identified to have acquired learning loss due to distance learning in the previous two years (Lagata 2022).  The view of reading comprehension that frames the study conveys the nature of comprehension as an active, constructive, meaning-making process (Goldman 2015).  As (Darsow 2022) said that a robust implementation plan enables the success of any intervention program. It implies  that in the pre-test, section B is doing well compared to section A as reflected in their higher scores along the various competencies in English, Filipino, and MTB-MLE.

The 8-Week LRC has the following features: grouping by ability based on the literacy and numeracy results; conduct of pre-test to determine where instruction will start; balance between structured and unstructured activities, and implementation of differentiated instruction (Lagata 2022).

Looking at the results, it implies that section A performed better in the Post-test than section B, as evidenced by higher scores in English, Filipino, and MTB-MLE. This goes to show that in general, after receiving the 8-Week Learning Recovery Program it shows that there were students whose progress was observed in their foundational skills in numeracy and literacy after the implementation of the program (Sadsad, 2022).

Paired Sample T-Test Results

Table 2: Means and Differences for the Pre and Post Test of the pupils in English, Filipino and MTB-MLE for Section A

Table 2 shows the sample T-Test results of the Pre- and Post-Test of the pupils in English, Filipino, and MTB-MLE of Section A. From the p-vales of the t-statistics which are less than the 0.05 alpha level, mean differences in all of the competencies of the section A pupils along the English, Filipino, and MTB-MLE subjects. For English, with mean differences of -20.15 for Big Letter Named, -19.7 for Big Letter Sound Produced, -19.9 for Small Letter Named, and -18.6 for Small Letter Sound Produced and P values of 0.0000 to all competencies respectively which are all below the 0.05 alpha level, we can say that there is a significant difference in the pre-test and post-test scores of the Section A. This shows that they performed better during the post-test.

For Filipino, with mean differences of -21.1 for Big Letter Named, -21.2 for Big Letter Sound Produced, -20.75 for Small Letter Named, and -21 for Small Letter Sound Produced and P values of 0.0000, 0.0000, 0.0000, and 0.0000 respectively which are all below the 0.00 alpha level, we can say that there is a significant difference in the pre-test and post-test scores of the Section A pupils. This shows that Section A performed well during post-test.

For MTB-MLE, with mean differences of -20.85 for Big Letter Named, -20.45 for Big Letter Sound Produced, -21.4 for Small Letter Named, and -21 for Small Letter Sound Produced and P values of 0.0000, 0.0000, 0.0000 and 0.0000 respectively which are all below the 0.05 alpha level, we can say that there is a significant difference in the pre-test and post-test scores of the Section A and B pupils with section A performing well compared to Section B.

The findings show that after participation in the learning recovery program, the students’ reading competencies have improved. Previous research has shed light that the number of full refresher students both in Grades 2 and 3 has significantly reduced after attending a series of remediation and catch activities (Rabelas, 2022). Whereas, York (2017) detailed the steps for testing the hypothesis with the paired-sample t-test when a researcher has matching pretest and post-test scores of one group of participants. In this study, the Grade 3 learners are considered one group as they all participated in the intervention program. However, reading as a whole, is a means of communication and information and ideas (Estremera & Estremera, 2017).

On the other hand, since the p-values of the pre and post-test scores of section A pupils are below the alpha level which shows that there are significant differences in the scores, the effect size using Cohen’s d was also calculated. With Cohen’s d of more than 0.8 across all competencies in English, Filipino, and Mother Tongue, this shows that the effect size is large, and that the intervention has practical significance in all competencies of the pupils in English, Filipino, and Mother Tongue.

Table 3: Means and Differences for the Post Test of the pupils in English, Filipino and MTB-MLE of Sections A and B

Table 3 shows the paired T-Test results of the Post Test of the pupils in English, Filipino, and MTB-MLE of Sections A and B. From the p-vales of the t-statistics which are less than the 0.05 alpha level, there is a significant difference in all of the competencies of the section A and B students along the English, Filipino, and MTB-MLE subjects. For English, with mean differences of 8.25 for Big Letter Named, 8.35 for Big Letter Sound Produced, 9.1 for Small Letter Named, and 7.2 for Small Letter Sound Produced and P values of 0.0003, 0.0024, 0.0003, and 0.0026 respectively which are all below the 0.05 alpha level, we can say that there is a significant difference in the pre-test and post-test scores of the Section A and B pupils with section A performing well compared to Section B. Likewise, with a size effect of -.87 using Cohen’s d, we can say that the significant difference also has a practical significance which implies that the intervention is effective in improving the scores of the pupils in English.

For Filipino, with mean differences of 7.55 for Big Letter Named, 8.2 for Big Letter Sound Produced, 7.95 for Small Letter Named, and 8.05 for Small Letter Sound Produced and P values of 0.0013, 0.0003, 0.0010, and 0.0015 respectively which are all below the 0.05 alpha level, we can say that there is a significant difference in the pre-test and post-test scores of the Section A and B pupils with section A performing well compared to Section B.

For MTB-MLE, with mean differences of 7.1 for Big Letter Named, 6.8 for Big Letter Sound Produced, 8.1 for Small Letter Named, and 8.85 for Small Letter Sound Produced and P values of 0.0004, 0.0013, 0.0006 and 0.0001 respectively which are all below the 0.05 alpha level, we can say that there is a significant difference in the pre-test and post-test scores of the Section A and B pupils with section A performing well compared to Section B.

These findings show that the reading competencies of pupils in Section A have more improvement than those in Section B. In the study of (What Works Clearinghouse, 2013), Reading Recovery was found to have positive effects on general reading achievement and potentially positive effects on the alphabet, reading fluency, and comprehension for beginning readers.  According to Santos & De Vera (2020), the Department of Education (DepEd) of the Philippines has long provided numerous efforts to strengthen education and help Filipino students improve their reading skills. Due to this, the implementation of the 8-Week Learning Recovery Program has a significant increase in the number of pupils whose basic numeracy and literacy skills have improved after attending a series of remediation activities (Sadsad, 2022).

Likewise, since the p-values of the post-test scores of section A pupils as compared to section B pupils are below the alpha level which shows that there are significant differences in the scores of the two groups, the effect size using Cohen’s d was also calculated. With Cohen’s d of more than 0.8 across all competencies in English, Filipino, and Mother Tongue, this shows that the effect size is large and that the intervention has practical significance in improving the competencies of the pupils in English, Filipino, and Mother Tongue. This verifies the findings that the group who received the intervention (section A) scored higher in the post-test as compared to the control group (section B).

CONCLUSION

Based on the findings, we can conclude that before the implementation of the program, Section A perform better than Section B. Whereas, during the pre-test, Section B performed well than Section A. However, during post-test, after receiving the intervention, Section A performed better than Section B, meaning the intervention program helps to improve the pupils’ reading competencies. Reading remediation helps to improve the reading competencies of the pupils. After analyzing the data, Filipino got the highest scores, followed by MTB-MLE and English. Therefore, we conclude that the implementation of the 8-Week Learning Recovery Program in reading competencies under the Schools Division of Camarines Sur, learning recovery program significantly improved the reading competencies skills level of Grade 3 learners, as shown by the significant differences in the pre and post-test results after the intervention.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the findings, the researchers recommend that a reading intervention program with similar features to the 8-Week LRP be maintained and even enhanced until all learners achieve grade-level reading proficiency. The researchers also recommend that similar studies related to the 8-week LRP be conducted in a similar context, but in a different locale to compare results, or in other contexts not included in this research to shed light on phenomena not covered by our discussion.

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