Relationship between Learners’ Reading Comprehension, Arithmetic Skills and Ability to Solve Word-Problems: A Case of Secondary School in Nakuru County, Kenya

Abstract

This study was about the relationship between Learners’ Reading Comprehension, Arithmetic Skills and Ability to Solve Word-Problem in Nakuru County, Kenya. It used the descriptive and correlational designs. The population was 5183 secondary school learners in Naivasha sub-County. Through stratified sampling, a sample of 318 learners in Form II and 10 teachers of Mathematics was selected. Data was collected through a questionnaires, the Text Comprehension Skills Test (TCST) and the Arithmetic Skills Test (AST) and it was treated using descriptive statistics. Learners’ arithmetic and reading proficiency were correlated using the Pearson product moment correlation coefficient. After the analysis and interpretation of data, the study concluded that learners and teachers faced some challenges in solving reading problems. The challenges were observed in the performance of the Text Comprehension Skills Test wherein the learners performed better in the arithmetic skills test than in the text comprehension skills test, which affects the arithmetic skills and ability to solve word-problems. Based on the conclusions, the study recommends that reading comprehension should be included in the Mathematics syllabus as an area of study in secondary schools. This will enable learners to perform better in word-problems at the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE). Similar study could be conducted in other counties in Kenya.