Comprensión lectora en estudiantes de educación básica superior: Estudio de caso de una unidad educativa del cantón Cuenca

Comprehension is the goal of reading and in adolescents, it is more necessary since they require access to complex content. According to the PISA 2019 report, 15-year-old students in Ecuador reach a minimum level of reading literacy skills, which means that they can answer tasks in which they must locate direct information and make simple inferences. The objective of this research was to determine the levels of reading comprehension in 8th-year students of basic general education at the San Francisco Educational Unit, Cuenca-Ecuador. The study followed a quantitative approach with a descriptive scope, cross-sectional and nonexperimental design. Fifty-two students from 12 to 14 years old from the morning and afternoon sessions of the mentioned educational institution participated. The students were given the reading comprehension test of the EVALEC-8 instrument (Battery to assess reading competence) which lasted approximately 46 minutes. The results obtained indicated that eighth-grade students are at a basic reading level, that is, they present greater difficulties both at the level of literal and global comprehension concerning reading texts. On the other hand, neither age nor gender directly influenced the level of reading comprehension in students. It was concluded that the participants need intervention to strengthen the evaluated skill. It would be expected that from these results, the educational institution and the family propose alternatives to enhance comprehension through habits and motivation toward reading.