Victor Chazangwe

Factors Behind the Poor Performance in Reading Comprehension Victor Chazangwe

There have been some concerns on the poor performance of pupils in reading comprehension from people in different fora. For instance during School Programme for In-Service for the Term (SPRINT) Meetings in schools, and Grade Twelve Marking Centers. Examiners and teachers have expressed this concern generally in Zambia. The concern is that generally Grade Twelve pupils do not perform well in Reading Comprehension. An analysis of the Examinations Council of Zambia examiners report on the 2007 Joint School Certificate and General Certificate of Education examinations also shows this weakness on the part of pupils in reading comprehension tasks. Reporting on the passage, the report indicates that more than fifty percent of the candidates scored below half the total mark in reading comprehension section; with some scoring as low as between 0 and 5 marks out of 20. The 2008 Examination Council of Zambia, Examiners? report shows almost the same scenario. This state of affairs has raised concerns among education practitioners and officials in the country. However, the performance and reasons for the performance varies from one school to another.