On the results of the reading comprehension competency assessment among first-year students of the Ferenc Rákóczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College of Higher Education

Abstract

In the 2022–2023 academic year, in addition to the previously conducted mathematics competency assessment the Ferenc Rákóczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College of Higher Education also measured reading comprehension. The aim of the survey was to examine all the first-year students. However, due to the continuous air raids and upper respiratory epidemics, the initial plan to involve all the first year students could not be successfully completed. This age group was selected because after finishing school the maturity exam in Hungarian language measures the ability to comprehend a text. Thus, the results obtained provide a credible picture of the effectiveness of mother tongue teaching in schools, while also providing empirical data that outline the detailed components and possible causes of poor reading comprehension competence, which is a serious problem to be solved. Overall, the assessment of reading comprehension at the institution can be described as useful. Most of all, it can be seen as a pilot test the data of which can be used effectively in the coming years for the development of effective teaching methods and mother tongue teaching in schools, in particular. The obtained results revealed certain difficulties in reading comprehension and highlighted the necessity of these measurements at the level of higher education. After all, improving the reading comprehension skills of Hungarian schoolchildren in Transcarpathia is primarily the task of teachers, and not only of primary school teachers and Hungarian language teachers.