Improving Reading Comprehension of the Eighth-grade Students of SMPN 3 Abiansemal in Academic Year 2023/2024 Through PQRST

Reading is a skill that people should be familiar with on a regular basis because it is the foundation of language. Readers can learn a lot by reading. Reading encourages the growth of critical thinking skills as well. It also helps people to learn word and pronunciation. The primary goal of this study is to implement Preview, Question, Read, State, and Test (PQRST) in teaching reading. The subject in this study is the eighth-grade students of SMPN 3 Abiansemal in the academic year 2023/2024. The class consisted of 31 students lacking reading comprehension, especially in finding the mean idea, general and specific information, textual meaning and references. The researchers used three tests to collect data: pre-test, post-test, and questionnaires. The result of pre-test clearly showed that the subject under study were low 39.19. Then the researcher applied PQRST to increase the ability of subject under study, the results showed significant improvement in reading comprehension in cycle I, with a mean score of 78.16. In cycle II, the study was revised to focus on specific information and textual references, resulting in a mean score of 88.10. The researchers used the mean score formula when all subjects’ data pre-test and post-test were calculated. The result of the questionnaire in this study used to find out and analyze the students’ percentages of the subject responses to the techniques is applied. The majority of subjects gave positive responses to the implementation of PQRST, with over 97% agreeing that it could improve their reading comprehension. The study concluded that implementing PQRST could help students improve their reading comprehension, especially in recount text. The research findings suggest that implementing PQRST is a suitable teaching technique for improving language skills, particularly in improving reading comprehension.