Assessing the Level of the Students' Reading Comprehension Abilities and Their Difficulties at SMP Budi Murni 1 Medan

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the level of students' reading ability in understanding recount text and their difficulties. This study used a qualitative descriptive method. This research was conducted at SMP Budi Murni 1 Medan. The sample of this study was 29 students in grade IX-3. This study used test and interview instruments. The researcher gave a test with 10 multiple-choice questions covered by several indicators, namely identifying the main idea, the purpose of the text, the language feature, the generic structure, and identifying specific information. After obtaining data from the reading test, the researcher analyzed the data by calculating the students' scores on the test that had been given to each class. Then the researcher categorized the students' scores on the test based on their ability level. The results of this study showed that students' ability to read texts was categorized as good with a mean score of 67.9%. A total of 15 students scored in the good level category, 7 students obtained scores in the fair category, and 7 students achieved the lowest score categorized in the poor level. The low score of students was caused by the lack of understanding in reading recount texts and the limited vocabulary of students.