Loud Difficulties Experienced By Upper Basic II Students in English Reading Comprehension in Ankpa Education Zone, Kogi State

This study examines the loud difficulties experienced by Upper Basic II students in English reading comprehension in Ankpa Education Zone of Kogi State. The study utilizes a quantitative research design to analyze the performance data from 134 students across three schools, YMC (Private), SCCA (Urban), and ADCGS (Rural). The study employed An English Reading Comprehension Test (ERCT) and an English Vocabulary Test (EVT) to assess students’ skills. A descriptive statistics was used to answer research questions one and two while inferential statistics were used to answer research question three at 0.005 level of significant value. The finding of this research shows that there is a significant difference in reading comprehension between private and public school students, with private school students outperforming those from public schools. Also, findings suggests that while students achieved high mean scores in overall reading performance, the challenges that emerged were in areas pronunciation and intonation, affecting their loud reading abilities. This study opines that special reading interventions should be incorporated into schools’ curriculum and that these special reading programs should focus on the need for parental involvement and community in the enhancement of students’ reading skills.