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I. THE PROBLEM

Background of the Study

Reading is a fundamental ability for higher learning. The best opportunity to teach children the skills of reading is in the early grades or earlier if possible. If this window is missed, then children who have not begun to read and understand what they read will continue to fall behind unless swift action is taken.According to Wolf (2007) the point of reading is comprehension; and the point of comprehension is learning. Children who fail to learn to read in the first few grades of school are handicapped in later grades as they must absorb increasing amounts of instructional content in print form. Poor readers cannot develop proper writing skills and become self-guided learners in other subject areas. The basic reading skills necessary to become literate do not develop naturally; we have to learn to adapt the part of our brain that recognizes images to be able to recognize written letters and words. Children must read fluently to comprehend what they are reading. As students weave together the many strands of reading, including background knowledge, vocabulary, language structures (syntax, semantics), and literary knowledge (print concepts and genres) with knowledge of print-sound relationships and decoding, they get closer to skilled reading and comprehension (Scarborough, 2002). A critical strand in this process is oral reading fluency, as measured by the number of words read correctly per minute (Fuchs et al., 2001).In the contemporary classroom, literacy instruction is one of the most important disciplines used to prepare students for higher education and adult life. Through teaching children how to read, educators equip their students with the tools necessary not only to succeed throughout their education and careers, but also in everyday activities such as reading a menu or checking the weather forecast. While there are multiple aspects to literacy education, one of the most important components is reading comprehension. All reading instruction, including phonics, fluency, and vocabulary development, leads to the ultimate goal of comprehension. As Opitz and Eldridge, Jr. (2004) noted in their article Remembering Comprehension: Delving into the Mysteries of Teaching Reading Comprehension that Reading comprehension skills are frequently left untaught. How important it is to remember that comprehension is the essence of reading and that it has to be taught and cannot be left to chance. While many students receive adequate instruction in phonics and vocabulary at an early age, many do not begin the process of understanding how to comprehend text until later.Understanding the nature of education production and identifying viable strategies for increasing educational quality in resource-constrained settings are therefore crucial.Furthermore, effective improvements in reading instruction may be particularly important because existing research suggests reading at an early age lays a necessary foundation for subsequent skill development (Scarborough, 2001).A large number of programs in the United States have focused on providing children with one-on-one or small group tutoring in reading, specifically those children identified as requiring remedial attention. Overall, there is some evidence from randomized evaluations that such programs can be effective in improving students reading skills. Scarborough (2001) randomly assigned poor readers to early one-on-one tutoring. The intervention proved effective, and while one-on-one tutoring of all children may prove too costly, the results demonstrate that reading interventions can be effective.Philippine program has then sought to improve childrens reading skills by encouraging reading amongst elementary pupils. Using a randomized controlled trial set in Tarlac province of the Philippines, research analyzed the impact of an educational intervention that provides schools with age-appropriate reading material and then incentivizes reading through a 31-day reading marathon. The reading marathon encourages students to read as many books as possible through daily, in-school reading activities such as storytelling sessions, reading games, and posters that display each classs progress. Educators continually look for strategies to enhance and improve the reading practices of pupils. The Department of Education is doing its best to address the reading problems among elementary pupils in the Philippine public schools. The department adopted and implemented the ECARP of Every Child A Reader Program. It also implemented different reading intervention activities among such as, Drop Everything and Read (DEAR), Three Words A Day, Read A Thon and the Directed Reading-Thinking Activities as strategy to the reading intervention programs.As it was published in Manila Bulletin of March 9, 2011, Department of Education says that more students will benefit from a new early reading intervention program that will help young readers improve their literacy skills from Primary to Grade 3. The program will be rolled out in September and will replace Reading Recovery, a program designed to serve a small percentage of struggling Grade 1 readers needing intensive support. The programs can helping students learn and excel in reading and writing is critical to their lifelong success. This will be an example of what is meant when one says putting children and learning first.The new program will also make closer links between board literacy specialists and classroom teachers, meaning fewer students will be taken out of the classroom. Like Reading Recovery, there will some one-on-one support, but the focus will be on small groups within the classroomIn support of the program, the Bureau of Elementary Education (BEE) developed the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil IRI). The Phil IRI will be administered to all public elementary schools to assess the progress and levels of reading ability and comprehension of the pupils after the intervention programs.However, in spite of the reading interventions, the reading comprehensions of the many of pupils even those who are in the higher grades and in high school are still poor. Many of them cannot understand what they have readThus, educators continually look for strategies to enhance and improve the reading practices of their student. The Department of Education is doing its best to address the reading problems among elementary pupils in the Philippine public schools. The department adopted and implemented the ECARP of Every Child A Reader Program. In support of the program, the Bureau of Elementary Education (BEE) developed the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil IRI). The Phil IRI will be administered to all public elementary schools. In line with the objectives of the Phil IRI, the DepEd gave and implemented specific remedial intervention for the program one of these is the Drop Everything and Read, which is guided by the DRTA strategy or Directed Reading-Thinking Activities.A daily DEAR program (Drop Everything and Read) provides students with much more than a just-sit-there-and-read experience. It gives the teacher a structured time to touch base with each student over a period of time, assess progress, and target instruction. Even more important, it gives students time to read what they want to read, share what they've read, and receive the support they need for further reading explorations and reflections. Daily reading sessions last between twenty and thirty minutes and are followed by fifteen minutes in which students can write in their reading response logs. When a student completes a book, he or she conferences with the teacher to discuss the book and share his or her reading log. This research was then undertaken to determine the effect of Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) as an intervention program to enhance the reading skill and comprehension of the grade seven students at Poctoy National High School.

Statement of the Problem

This research was conducted to determine the effects of Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) reading program on the reading skill and comprehension of the grade 7 students in learning the English subject.Specifically, it sought answer to the following questions:1. What is the oral reading assessment and reading comprehension of the Grade 7 students at the beginning of the school year 2014-2015?2. What is the oral reading assessment and reading comprehension of the Grade 7 students at the end of the school year 2014-2015 after DEAR reading program was implemented?3. Is there a significant difference between the oral reading assessment and reading comprehension at the beginning and at the end of the school year after DEAR reading program was implemented?

Scope and Delimitation This research studied the effects of Drop Everything and Read Reading Program (DEAR) on the reading skill and comprehension of the Grade 7 students in Poctoy National High School for the School Year 2014-2015. The research will not touch other aspects or learning areas of English such as listening, speaking, and writing and limited only on assessing the oral reading skill and comprehension of the Grade 7 students.

Significance of the Study

The result of this study will give significant to the following groups of individuals:Specifically, results of this study will also be beneficial to the following:For the educational policy makers, results of this study may be used by them to redesign and updates modules and program for the improvement of reading comprehension of the students in all levels to attain a higher reading comprehension and proficiency level. This may also serve as basis for revitalizing and identifying a more effective and efficient learning materials and reading programs within an acceptable cost to enhance the reading skill and comprehension skill of the students. For the school administrators, results of this may serve as an eye opener for them initiate changes in the development of various reading instructional supplementary materials that will enrich and enhance the quality of education provided to learners.For the teachers, data gathered may help enhance and improve the instructional competencies of teachers in the teaching learning process and remedial work may be given to students to better hone their comprehension skill in reading. Results may give teachers lots of insights in redesigning reading intervention such as DEAR that they can make use as daily reading intervention.For the students, the reading intervention program DEAR may help them improve their ability to read and to comprehend at their own pace. Results of this study may help them to progress smoothly from one level to another and provide opportunities to practice reading skills and perform better under different conditions. They may become more motivated to learn and that learning may be more interesting and meaningful to conduct independent reading and study.For the future researchers, results of this study may be used as bases for comparison, thereby enriching materials to be used for reading intervention such as DEAR in order to provide overall assessment of the intervention or the reading program.

II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIESThis presents selected literature and related studies pertinent to the study to give additional insights and information for better understanding of the problem presented for investigation.

The Nature of Reading

Reading has been defined in different disciplines by many authors and reading experts in many ways. Leipzig (2001) defined reading as a multifaceted process involving word recognition, comprehension, fluency, and motivation. Reading also means making meaning from print. It requires that a reader identifies the words in print-a process called word recognition, constructs an understanding for them- a process called comprehension, and then coordinates identifying words and making meaning so that reading is automatic and accurate an achievement called fluency.

The Reading Process

According to Fisher (1981) A variety of cognitive skills are required for reading involves sequencing of eye movements, decoding, encoding, and utilizing linguistic awareness. It demands knowledge of orthographic regularity and irregularity. It integrates letters, words, sentences, and passages with past experience. Surely reading is one of our most complex daily activities". Consideration will now be given to some of these cognitive processes.From Wikipedia, reading is defined as a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols in order to construct or derive meaning. It is a means of language acquisition, of communication, and of sharing information and ideas. Like all languages, it is a complex interaction between the text and the leader which is shaped by the readers prior knowledge, experiences, attitude, and language community which is culturally and socially situated. The reading process requires continuous practice, development, and refinement.In her book, Villamin (2001) cited several meanings of reading from different authors published in the International Reading Association publications by Harris and Hedges as follows:Reading is viewed by Spoche as a developmental task. It is a thinking process that concerns with the readers skill in making interpretation and generalization, in drawing outcomes and conclusions. It contributes to personality changes for it provides students with reading materials that meet their needs or some have application to their lives.According to Gray, reading is an interaction between the reader and the writer. The reader attempts to reconstruct a message from the writer, sampling, selecting, predicting, comparing and confirming activity in which the reader selects as a sample of useful and graphic cues based on what he sees and what he expects to see.It is also believed that reading involves the recognition of printed or written words which serve as stimuli for the recall of meaning, built up through experience and the construction of new meanings through manipulation of concepts already possessed by the reader. The resulting meanings are organized. It is a two-way process involving the perception and comprehension of written messages cited by Tinker, Cullough, and Thorndike.Reading is a tool for learning and in mastering all other subjects in the curriculum, a part of communication arts and a means to an end. People read for pleasure, for specific information, to locate materials dealing special problems or to share information with others. Learning performance in almost all the childs school words depend to a great measure on his proficiency in reading. It is in this sense that several reading skills are needed to comprehend and react to the selection. Such skills are getting the main idea, noting details or proof sentences, finding cause and effect relationships, determining sequence, predicting outcomes, making judgment, drawing conclusions, and following directions. All are needed to fully grasp the message.

Reading Comprehension

Reading is the gateway to comprehension. The goal of reading is to extract meaning. This is referred to as reading comprehension and can be viewed as product f two necessary components: decoding and linguistic comprehension,Relative to this, Mercado et al., (2009) mentioned that reading is one of the four macro skills taught in the English subject. The act of reading is a process which involves steps to achieve and reinforce understanding namely: word perception, comprehension, reaction, and integration. Of all these steps, research on the field has focused on the comprehension and the issues that revolve around it.Reading comprehension is defined as the level of understanding of a text/message. This understanding comes from the interaction between the words that are written and how they trigger knowledge outside the text/message.Comprehension is the act of grasping the meaning, significance or nature of an idea with intellect and specifies understanding as its closes synonym. It is an integrated skill, a process of constructing meaning from written texts, a complex skill requiring coordination of several kinds of interrelated sources of information. Comprehension is a means of integrating information when individuals read. A structure is formed, which includes all the events of circumstances and concepts that must be put together.The National Reading Panel (2000) states that, reading comprehension is critically important to the development of childrens reading skill and therefore the ability to obtain an education. This statement is supported by Villamin (1994) when she pointed out that reading implies comprehension. According to her, an individual must understand what he reads if he is to accomplish any process expect to waste time. She added that developing comprehension which is a constellation of skills or abilities is difficult. Teachers must acknowledge the importance of reading skills and must plan an effective program of reading instruction with focus on promoting reading culture among learners.

Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (PHIL-IRI)In reading, the reader is an active participant in the construction of meaning. In accordance with this theory, there is a need to assess the students ability to obtain meaning from the text in a variety of context (Swearinger, Allen & Carp, 2000). As a result, the development of reading tool is necessary. This tool could provide for reading inventory by providing a common reference point. The tool support the DepEd thrust Every Child a Reader Program (ECARP).Under this program, every child is a reader by the end of grade II. The call for a unified assessment toll is the onset of the development of the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory. The Department of Education is conducting every year the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (PHIL-IRI) for both silent and oral reading. The Phil-IRI is an authentic reading assessment that attempts to evaluate reading in a way that is more closely aligned to the actual classroom instruction. It determines students thinking processes as well as their reading comprehension, vocabulary, and word identification strategies within context. The PHIL IRI gives both quantitative and qualitative information about the students reading capabilities. Quantitative information shows the reading levels namely: frustration, instructional, and independent levels, while qualitative information reveals word recognition, patterns of word errors, comprehension strengths and difficulties, reading behaviors and attitudes and the measurement of reading growth over time.Each reading level of the student can be identified by specific indicators.The independent level, it is the highest level of which a student can read independently and with east without the help of guide of the teacher. The student gets 9 to 10 correct answers for comprehension. The student is free from tension, finger pointing or lip movement. The student reads with rhythm and with conversational tone and interprets punctuations correctly.The instructional level is the level at which the student can profit from instruction. The student answers correctly 7 out of 10 questions. The students oral reading is rhythmical with conversational tone and correct interpretation.The frustration level is the lowest reading level. The student gets a score of 5 and below in the reading comprehension check. The student shows evidence of finger pointing or lip movement. The student shows withdrawal from reading situations by crying or refusing to read. The student commits errors in reading such as reversal, repetition, substitution, insertion, mispronunciation, and inability to interpret punctuation.Every year, English teachers are conducting PHIL IRI for silent and oral reading. Results reveal that most the Grade 7 or formerly first year students fall under either frustration or instructional levels. Certain measures and interventions need to be given to them.

Drop Every and ReadDrop Everything And Read time, better known as D. E. A. R. time, is a time regularly set aside in the classroom schedule for both students and their teachers to "drop everything and read.." D. E. A. R. time conveniently accommodates a variety of student interests and ability levels, since each student selects for himself or herself the book or books he or she wishes to read. D. E. A. R. is not intended to be . It is a substitute for other language arts instruction -- D. E. A. R. supplements the regular reading program by encouraging independent reading, but it does not replace guided reading. It is an extra activity that gets plugged into the schedule when another lesson finishes early or dropped from the schedule when a lesson runs longer than expected or a fire drill interrupts class. D. E. A. R. time is "dear." It is an important part of the daily or weekly classroom schedule. It is scheduled for the same time each day or week so students recognize that D. E. A. R. time is a priority and so that they can look forward to this special period. When D. E. A. R. becomes a regular part of the classroom schedule, each student should bring a book from home or select a book from the classroom library before D. E. A. R. time begins. When D. E. A. R. time arrives, every student should be prepared to pull out immediately a pre-selected book and begin to read.

Research HypothesisThere is no significant difference on the reading skill and comprehension of the students when DEAR is implemented in the English class.

III. METHODOLOGY

This presents the research design, research locale, the sample, the research instrument, data collection procedure and the data analysis procedure.

Research DesignThis research study utilized the descriptive type of research. As cited by Calmorin (2004), the descriptive type of research aims to gather information about the past and present conditions and describes the nature of the variables. This type of research is suited in this type of research, since it attempted to describe the improvement of the pupils reading ability and comprehension after the DEAR program as reading intervention program. In a big concept, it describes the effects of the intervention program on pupils reading profile as it presented the existing relationship between the two variables.

Research LocaleThe study was conducted in Poctoy National High School, a non-fiscal school in Torrijos Cluster, Division of Marinduque.The choice of the research locale is due to the researchers deep concern enhancing the quality of English reading instruction in the said school.

The SampleThe subjects of this study were the 14 Grade 7 students.

Research Instruments

This research adopted the Phil IRI form 1, the test materials. For oral reading test, the test materials are consist of 2 reading passages of 252 words for pre test and post test respectively followed by seven prompt questions. For silent reading test, it is consist of one reading passage of 252 words for pre test followed by eight item questions and another reading passage of 252 words for post test, followed by ten item questions.

Data Collection Procedure

Pre tests were administered at the beginning of the school year to the grade seven students to assess the oral and silent reading abilities. Test materials for pre test for (oral reading ability) consist of one reading passage of 252 words which was immediately followed by a prompt consist of ten questions. The prompt activates the students motivation to reading. For silent or reading comprehension test, students were given one passage consist of 252 words and immediately followed by ten item questions. During the administration of the pre test, students oral reading miscues were recorded as well the result of the prompt questions. Results were then interpreted as frustration, instructional and independent. After the pre test, students were given the Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) program to enhance the reading ability and comprehension. This program made use of DRTA strategy. Post tests were administered at the end of the school year, to determine the improvement difference of the grade seven students in their oral and silent reading abilities. Students were given one reading passage of 252 words and seven item questions for post oral test; one reading passage of 252 words and eight item questions for post silent test. Miscues and answers were recorded and interpreted as frustration, instructional and independent.Data AnalysisResults of pre and post tests in both oral and silent readings were compared and computed to get the improvement difference using descriptive statistics like percentage.To get the effects of reading intervention on students reading ability and comprehension, Chi square was employed. The Chi square tested the research null hypothesis.

Table 1. Results of the Phil-IRI SY 2014-2015Grade VI English Oral Test (Number and Percentage of Students per Reading Levels)Sample Size TestedFrustration LevelInstructional LevelIndependent LevelTotal

Pre-TestN%N%N%N%

Male3267133003100

Female108802200010100

Total1310779230013100

Post TestMale3267133003100

Female1066033011010100

Total13861.54430.7217.6914100

Total Improvement of Pre test and Post testMale300000000

Female10220110110440

Total13215.3817.6917.69

Table 1 shows the result of the English Oral reading test. The findings revealed a decrease of 57.15% on students belonging to frustration level, further, an increase of 42.86 % of instructional readers and 14.29 of independent readers. Findings implied that the decrease of frustration and increase of instructional and independent readers are attributed to the integration of DEAR program in between teaching of English for the entire school year. Findings also implied that students oral and silent (comprehension) abilities have improved after the DEAR program.

Table 2. English Silent Reading Test (Number and Percentage per Reading )

Sample Size TestedFrustration LevelInstructional LevelIndependent LevelTotal

Pre-TestN%N%N%N%

Male4250250004100

Female104406600010100

Total14642.86857.140014100

Post TestMale43751254100

Female1066044010100

Total14964.29535.7114100

Total Improvement of Pre test and Post testMale4125125

Female1000440

Total1417.14535.71

Table 2 presents, the results of English Silent Reading test, the findings revealed a total decrease of frustration readers and an increase of 7.14 percent of instructional readers and 35.71 percent of independent readers. The findings implied that the smaller the number of frustration and instructional readers, the bigger the numbers of the independent readers. The increase number of the independent readers is attributed to DEAR program. Thus the DEAR intervention program has significant effect to pupils reading ability and comprehension.

Table 3. Effects of DEAR Intervention Programon Students Oral Reading Ability

Sample Size TestedFrustration LevelInstructional LevelIndependent LevelTotalInterpretation

Pre - TestMale

Female3

60

21

24

10df = 6 at 0.05 = 12.592X2 = 70.30

Significant

Post Test

Male

Female-3

-5+2

+4+1

+1

Total18514

Tables 4 reveals the significant effect of 70.30 set at 6 at 0.05 levels of significance of DEAR reading intervention on students reading ability.

Table 4. Effects of DEAR Intervention Programon Students Silent Reading Ability (Comprehension)

Sample Size TestedFrustration LevelInstructional LevelIndependent LevelTotalInterpretation

Pre - TestMale

Female2

42

60

04

10df = 6 at 0.05 = 12.592 X2= 5.155

not significant

Post Test

Male

Female-2

-4+1

0+1

+4

Total0

9514

Table 4 reveals that DEAR reading intervention has no significant effect on students reading comprehension skill. The level of measurement was set at 0.05 with df of 6, the significant level is below the set degree of frequency. Data suggest for another intervention program to enhance the reading comprehension of the students.

IV. Summary of Findings, Conclusions, and RecommendationsFindings of study showed the following results1. The oral reading ability of the grade seven students in Poctoy National High School is described to be instructional. Majority of the students belong to instructional level in spite of the DEAR reading intervention program.2. The silent reading ability (comprehension) of the grade seven pupils in Poctoy National High School is described to be instructional. Majority of the students tested still lack the needed comprehension skills. They can read but some could not understand what they have read.3. The result of the chi-square showed that there is a significant effect of DEAR on students oral reading skill while there is no significant effect on students comprehension skill (silent).

ConclusionBased on the findings, this study concludes that:1. There is a significant effect of DEAR on students oral reading ability. Likewise, there is an existing relationship between these variables. Therefore, the null hypothesis is hereby affirmed.2. There is no significant effect of DEAR on students reading comprehension (silent) skill. Therefore, there is no existing relationship between these variables, thus, the null hypothesis is rejected.

RecommendationIn the light of the findings, the following recommendations are offered:

1. Continuous implementation and monitoring of DEAR program on students belonging to Instructional levels to make them independent readers;

2. DepEd other reading intervention programs are also offered: National English Proficiency Programa. Peer teachingb. Mentoringc. Buddy-buddy /teach one-each-one3. One on one small group tutoring4. Use of ABRC materials to develop comprehension of students belong to instruction levels.5. Provide individualize education plan with regards to reading to enhance students reading ability and comprehension.

VI. Literature CitedA. Books

Gardner, K. 1986. Reading in today's schools. Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd. pp. 212-225.

Kokong, M.M. 1991. The relationship between reading ability and achievement in English as a second language and other subjects at matric level. Potchefstroom: University of Potchefstroom for Christian Higher Education. pp. 123-130.

Villamin, A.M.(2001). Developmental reading. Quezon City: Phoenix Publishing House. Inc.

B. Periodicals/Journals/Unpublished Materials

Beckett, G. 2005. Perspectives on reading and listening comprehension. SAALED News 25: 2-2 Fisher, D.F. 1981. In the beginning was the word. Basic processes in reading. Journal of Experimental Psychology : Human Perception and Performance. (7): 489-494.

Foorman, R and R. Torgesen. 2001. Critical elements of classroom and small-group instruction promote reading success in all children. Learning Disabilities Research and Practice 16 (4):203-212.

Opitz, M.F. and R. G. Eldridge. 2004. Remembering comprehension: Delving into the mysteries of teaching reading comprehension. Reading Teacher 57 (8): 772-773.

Pretorius, E.J. 2002. Reading ability and academic performance in South Africa : are we fiddling while Rome is burning? Language matJers, Issue 33: 169-196.

Scarborough, H.S. 2001. Connecting Early Language and Literacy to Later Reading (Dis)Abilities: Evidence, Theory, and Practice, In S.B. Neuman and D.K. Dickinson (Eds.), Handbook of Early Literacy Research. New York, NY: Guilford Press. 1:97-110.

Wolf, K. M. 2007. Accountable talk in reading comprehension instruction. (CSE Technical Report 670.) Los Angeles, CA: National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST). (Retrieved from: http://www.google.com/#hl=en&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&q=Vellutino+and+Scanlon+(2001&oq=Vellutino+and+Scanlon+(2001&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_l=hp On August10, 2012).

C. Online ReferencesLeipzig, D.H. (2001). What is reading? Retrieved June 2015 from http://www.readingrockets.org/article/352/Levels of comprehension.