Reading comprehension and its relationship to academic performance among high school students in Kisumu district.

Abstract

This study sought to investigate the relationship between reading comprehension and academic performance, and in so doing provide local empirical data that shows the magnitude of this relationship with various subjects offered at the secondary school level. In addition, the study also investigated the relationship of students' reading comprehension with their genders. The study was carried out in Kisumu District in six purposively selected Secondary schools. Reading comprehension tests were administered to the selected population of study. These were correlated with the students' academic performance ill selected subjects. The correlation results indicated a positive and significant relationship between reading comprehension and students' academic performance. t-tests were further carried out to establish the effect of gender on reading comprehension. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the performance of boys and girls in reading comprehension at the 0.05 level of significance. The study concluded that reading comprehension is related to the academic performance therefore a factor to consider in seeking elevating the academic performance of students. Further research would however be necessary to establish the role of gender in:reading comprehension and academic performance.