INTRODUCTION

Reading comprehension is a crucial literacy competency for successful learning. Reading is not only the ability to recognize symbols of written language but also a cognitive activity that includes interpreting, understanding, evaluating and integrating information gained from reading with existing knowledge. In this sense, reading comprehension is an indispensable foundation for students’ academic development because nearly all learning activities in school depend on the ability to comprehend information presented in text (OECD, 2023). Reading skills are more complex in junior high school. Students have moved beyond the learning-to-read stage to the reading-to-learn stage, where reading serves as a tool for acquiring, developing and constructing new knowledge. At this stage, students should be able to understand various types of academic texts, interpret information, draw conclusions and relate the reading content to the concepts studied in other subjects. Poor reading comprehension affects almost all aspects of learning, since students struggle to process instructions, learning materials and test questions.

The results of various international education evaluations increasingly reflect the urgency of improving reading skills. The reading literacy skills of Indonesian students are still below the average of OECD member countries, according to the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results. This suggests that a large number of students still struggle to grasp explicit and implicit information contained within a text, and lack the ability to think more critically about the content of the reading (OECD, 2023). These findings are supported by the Indonesian Education Report Card, which shows that student literacy is still a major challenge in improving the quality of national education. Low reading literacy skills not only affect learning Indonesian, but also the success of learning in all subjects that need the ability to understand written information. The implementation of inclusive education complicates the problem even more. Inclusive schools offer the chance for all students, including those with different learning needs, to access educational services in the same learning environment. Thus, teachers should offer adaptive learning strategies according to each student’s characteristics. One group that needs special attention is students who are at risk for learning difficulties, especially in reading. As UNESCO (2020) points out, the success of inclusive education depends greatly on the ability of the school to offer learning strategies that meet the learning needs of each student so that all students have the same opportunities to achieve academic competencies.

Students at risk for learning difficulties generally exhibit characteristics such as slow word recognition, reading by spelling, frequent pronunciation errors, and difficulty comprehending reading content. These obstacles cause a large portion of students' cognitive capacity to be used for decoding, thereby reducing cognitive resources that should be used to comprehend the meaning of the reading. As a result, students have difficulty comprehending information, answering questions based on the reading, and participating in learning that requires independent reading skills. Kieffer and Christodoulou (2019) explain that reading fluency is closely related to reading comprehension because the automation of word recognition allows readers to focus on the process of constructing meaning from the text.

This condition was also found based on the results of initial observations conducted at SMP Negeri 2 Kaubun, Kaubun District, East Kutai Regency during the School Environment Introduction Period (MPLS) activities for the 2025/2026 Academic Year. The results of the observations showed that some students experienced reading difficulties, resulting in them taking longer than their peers to complete questions. Students still read by spelling, had difficulty reading words consisting of more than three syllables, and were unable to optimally comprehend the content of the reading. As a consequence, the given answers were often unrelated to the questions due to the students' difficulty in understanding the instructions and the information contained in the text. This condition indicates that reading difficulties are not only related to the technical aspects of reading, but also affect the ability to understand the learning material as a whole. Initially, teachers have been providing reading support outside of class time, using simple texts and comprehension questions. However, the results obtained have not shown significant changes because these activities have not been implemented systematically, structured, and continuously. Reading interventions carried out incidentally tend to be less effective in helping students develop reading automation. Therefore, learning strategies are needed that are able to provide repeated and consistent reading practice so that students' reading abilities can develop optimally.

One of the most recommended ways of teaching reading is Repeated Reading. This is a learning strategy where students read the same text multiple times until they reach a certain level of fluency. Through repeated reading, students learn to see words more quickly and the reading process becomes more automatic. When students are able to recognize words automatically, their cognitive ability can be freed to focus on understanding the content of the reading, interpreting it, and drawing conclusions from the information they have read. Repeated Reading, then, leads to improved reading fluency, which, in turn, leads to improved reading comprehension. The Repeated Reading method has been shown in many previous studies to be effective. Therrien (2020) found that Repeated Reading significantly improved reading fluency and reading comprehension in students with reading difficulties. The results of this study showed that students who practiced repeated reading were able to recognize words more quickly and automatically during the reading process. Furthermore, Samuels and Farstrup (2021) explain that repeating the same text can improve reading speed, accuracy, and comprehension because students have the opportunity to build automation in recognizing words. Research by Nurliyanti, Rahman, and Setiawan (2022) also shows that the Repeated Reading strategy, implemented in a structured manner, can improve the reading skills of elementary school students who have reading difficulties.

Another study indicates that reading ability is closely related to success in comprehension of learning materials. Reading ability has a significant effect on students’ ability to understand learning questions (Hasanah, Putri, and Rahmat, 2021). Students’ low reading ability results in poor learning because it becomes difficult for them to understand instructions and questions. Rahmawati and Pratiwi (2023) in their study also found that Repeated Reading method was effective in improving reading comprehension through an increase in reading fluency. “Meanwhile, Khoiriyah, Latifah and Enawar (2025) stated that high school students with reading difficulties tend to have reading characteristics such as spelling, substituting words, reading slowly and find difficulty in understanding the contents of the reading which affects their ability to follow the learning process. From the various studies, it can be stated that the state of the art research on Repeated Reading has consistently proven that this method is effective to improve students' reading fluency, reading accuracy and reading comprehension with reading difficulties. The majority of studies also refer to the fact that the success of the method is conditioned by the process of reading repetition that can develop automation in the recognition of words, thus reducing the cognitive load during reading. As a result, Repeated Reading has evolved as a reading intervention with a strong empirical base.

However, there are still research gaps that require further study. Most previous research has been conducted on elementary school students, focusing primarily on improving reading fluency. Research specifically examining the effectiveness of the Repeated Reading method on reading comprehension skills in students at risk of learning difficulties in junior high school, particularly in inclusive schools, is still very limited. Furthermore, most previous research has been conducted in regular school contexts, thus providing limited empirical evidence regarding the implementation of the Repeated Reading method in inclusive schools, which have more heterogeneous student characteristics. Based on this research gap, the novelty of this study lies in three aspects. First, the study focused on students at risk of learning difficulties in inclusive junior high schools, who are rarely the subjects of Repeated Reading research. Second, the study not only measured improvements in reading fluency but also specifically examined reading comprehension skills as a key indicator of intervention success. Third, this study provides empirical evidence regarding the implementation of the Repeated Reading method in the context of inclusive education in Indonesia, and is expected to serve as an alternative, adaptive reading learning strategy for teachers to support student learning success.

From the description above, this study is conducted to analyze the effectiveness of Repeated Reading method in improving reading comprehension skills to the students at risk of learning difficulties in inclusive junior high schools. The findings are anticipated to contribute to the development of evidence-based reading learning strategies and serve as a reference for teachers and schools to design more effective learning interventions to improve students’ literacy skills in inclusive schools.

METHOD

This study used a quantitative approach with the Single Subject Research (SSR) method using an A₁–B–A₂ design, consisting of an initial baseline phase (A₁), an intervention phase (B), and a final baseline (A₂). This design was chosen to evaluate the effectiveness of the Repeated Reading method on improving students' reading comprehension skills individually through repeated measurements at each phase of the study. In the SSR design, the subject functions as a control for himself so that changes in reading ability that occur can be observed more accurately as a result of the intervention given (Cooper et al., 2020; Gast et al., 2020). The study was conducted at SMP Negeri 2 Kaubun, East Kutai Regency, in the even semester of the 2025/2026 academic year. The research subject was a seventh-grade student selected using a purposive sampling technique based on the results of the initial assessment and teacher observations. Subject criteria included: (1) being a seventh-grade student in an inclusive school, (2) having difficulty reading fluently, (3) still reading by spelling, especially words consisting of more than three syllables, (4) having difficulty understanding simple reading materials, and (5) being willing to participate in the entire research process. The intervention was conducted using the Repeated Reading method through five stages: pre-reading, modeling, repeated reading of the same text two to four times depending on the level of fluency achieved, providing feedback (feedback and correction), and evaluating reading comprehension. Each intervention session lasted 15–20 minutes and was carried out repeatedly according to the research design. Reading comprehension was measured using a reading test that included indicators of reading fluency, word reading accuracy, reading comprehension, and the ability to answer questions based on the text. Observation sheets were used to record the implementation of each intervention stage and the development of the subjects' reading skills.

Data were analyzed using visual analysis, which is the main procedure in SSR research. Analysis of data at each phase was carried out in two stages: within-condition analysis and between-condition analysis. The analysis included trends, level changes, data stability, data range, and the percentage of overlap between the baseline and intervention phases. The effectiveness of the Repeated Reading method was determined based on consistent increases in reading comprehension scores, positive level changes, data stability during the intervention, and low levels of overlap between phases (Kratochwill et al., 2023).

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

Result

This research was conducted at SMPN 2 Kaubun involving a seventh-grade student at risk of experiencing learning difficulties in the aspect of reading comprehension as the research subject. The research used the Single Subject Research (SSR) method with an A₁–B–A₂ design, which consists of an initial baseline phase (A₁), an intervention phase (B), and a final baseline (A₂). Based on the results of initial observations and information from the subject teacher, the subject did not have any visual or hearing impairments, but still had difficulty recognizing words quickly, especially in words consisting of more than three syllables, so he tended to read by spelling, repeating words, and needed more time to understand the content of the reading. This condition caused the subject's reading comprehension ability to be below the average of his peers, even though the subject was able to interact well, was cooperative during the research, and received support from the school environment that implemented inclusive education. The study began with measuring reading comprehension skills in the baseline phase (A₁) until stable data was obtained, then continued to the intervention phase (B) through the application of the Repeated Reading method, and ended with the final baseline phase (A₂) to determine the sustainability of the intervention's effect after the treatment was stopped. In each intervention session, learning was carried out through the stages of pre-reading, modeling, repeated reading of the same text, providing feedback, and comprehension checks. Measurement of reading comprehension skills in each phase was carried out using reading comprehension tests and reading fluency observations to obtain a systematic picture of changes in subject abilities during the study.

Table 1. Reading Comprehension Ability Results

PhaseSessionNumber of QuestionsCorrect AnswerPercentage

A1A1-14250%

A1A1-25360%

A1A1-35360%

A1A1-45360%

BB14375%

BB255100%

BB355100%

BB455100%

A2A2-16583,33%

A2A2-266100%

A2A2-366100%

A2A2-466100%

The results of reading comprehension measurement in each phase of the study showed that the subject’s ability increased after being given intervention by the Repeated Reading method. In the first baseline phase (A₁) the reading comprehension ability was still relatively low and stable with a percentage of 50% in session A₁-1 and increased to 60% in sessions A₁-2 to A₁-4 without significant changes. Once the intervention phase (B) was achieved, the reading comprehension ability increased, with a percentage of 75% in session B₁ and 100% in sessions B₂, B₃, and B₄, which means that the subjects were able to understand the content of the reading better after participating in repeated reading exercises. In order to investigate the sustainability of the intervention effect, a re-measurement was conducted in the last baseline phase (A_2) after a one-week break, with longer reading texts and more questions. The results showed the subjects reached the percentage of 83,33% in the session A2-1 and increased to 100% in the sessions A2-2 to A2-4. These results indicate that gains in reading comprehension were made during the intervention and maintained after the intervention was stopped, providing evidence for the effectiveness of the Repeated Reading method to improve and maintain the reading comprehension skills of students at risk for learning difficulties.

Table 2. Reading Fluency Observation Results

PhaseSessionObservation Results

A1A1-1Misread 3 words

A1A1-2Misread 2 words

A1A1-3Misread 1 word

A1A1-4Misread 1 word

BB1One word had to be repeated several times

BB2No misreading

BB3No misreading

BB4No misreading

A2A2-1No misreading, just a little stuttering

A2A2-2No misreading

A2A2-3No misreading

A2A2-4No misreading

The analysis results in the initial baseline phase (A₁) showed that the subjects' reading comprehension ability was still in the low category with an average (mean level) of 57.50%. The percentage of reading ability increased from 50% in the first session to 60% in the second to fourth sessions, so that the trend showed a very small increase and then tended to be stable. The highest value in this phase was 60%, while the lowest value was 50%, with a data range of 10%. According to the results of the stability analysis, all data were within the stability range (100%), thus the initial baseline phase was regarded as highly stable. This condition shows that the reading comprehension skills of the individuals were not significantly different before the session. It can be used as a benchmark to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention.

The mean level of average reading comprehension ability increased to 93.75% during the intervention phase (B). Reading comprehension increased from 75% in the first session to 100% in the following three sessions, showing an upward trend before stabilizing. In this phase the data range was 25% and all data was on the stability range (100%) Therefore the period of intervention was very stable. The results of this study were indicative of a favorable effect of the implementation of the Repeated Reading method on the subjects’ reading comprehension capacity .

The average level of reading comprehension ability in the last baseline phase (A2) was still high at 95.83%. The percentage of reading comprehension increased from 83.33% in the first session to 100% in the next three sessions. The trend continued to rise and then plateaued . The range for the data is 16.67%. All data were within the range of stability and so was the final baseline phase which was very stable. These results suggest that the gains in reading comprehension achieved during the intervention phase were maintained even after the withdrawal of the intervention.

In the study, it was seen that the reading error number was decreased in every phase. In the first baseline phase (A1), the subject still made three reading errors in session A1-1, two words in session A1-2, and one word in sessions A1-3 and A1-4. The number of reading errors decreased significantly after the intervention using the Repeated Reading method. In session B1, there was still one word which had to be repeated several times, but in sessions B2–B4, the subject made no further reading errors. This condition was continued during the final baseline phase (A 2 ). In all sessions, the subject did not make any reading errors, but in session A 2-1 he still appeared to stutter a little when reading longer texts. The observations indicated that the Repeated Reading method improved reading comprehension and increased reading fluency by reducing mispronunciations and automating the reading process overall.

Table 3. Results of Analysis Between Conditions

ComponentsResult

Mean Level57,5% → 93,75%

Level Change+15%

TrendStable, low → increasing

StabilityStable → Stable

A cross-condition analysis was conducted to find out how the intervention using the Repeated Reading method changed the reading comprehension skills of the subjects. The analysis compared results from the first baseline phase (A1) with the intervention phase (B) and examined the sustainability of intervention outcomes in the final baseline phase (A2). The parameters studied were: change in mean level, level, trend, stability of data and percentage overlap of phases. The analysis revealed that the mean level increased from 57.50% in phase A 1 to 93.75% in phase B indicating an increase in reading comprehension skills after the intervention. The trend changed from relatively stable at low levels to increasing and then stabilizing at higher levels. Moreover, high stability of data was observed in both phases, allowing to interpret the changes as consistent intervention results. The overlap analysis also showed that no data from the intervention phase were below or equal to the highest score in the baseline phase (60%) with all the intervention phase scores falling within the range of 75%–100%. Therefore, the percentage of overlap is 0%, which implies that the intervention has a great impact on the enhancement of the subject’s reading comprehension ability.

Graph 1. Analysis of Reading Comprehension Ability Between Conditions in Phases A1, B, and A2

The results of the overlap analysis between the baseline phase (A₁) and the intervention phase (B) showed that there was no data in the intervention phase that was within the highest value range of the baseline phase (60%). All data in the intervention phase were in the range of 75%–100%, resulting in an overlap value of 0% (0/4 × 100%). This value indicates that the Repeated Reading method had a very strong influence on improving the subjects' reading comprehension abilities. Furthermore, the analysis between conditions A₁→B showed an increase in the mean level from 57.50% to 93.75%, accompanied by a change in trend from a stable condition at a low level to increasing and stable at a higher level. Both phases had a high level of stability, but with different performance levels. The absence of overlap between phases strengthens that the increase in reading comprehension abilities was the impact of the implementation of the Repeated Reading method, not due to data variations in the baseline phase. In the analysis of conditions B→A₂, the mean level again increased from 93.75% to 95.83% with a tendency for the data to remain stable in both phases. These results indicate that the reading comprehension skills gained during the intervention were maintained even after the treatment was discontinued. Thus, the intervention's effects were not only immediate during the learning process but also demonstrated a maintenance effect in the final baseline phase. The final conclusions from each phase are shown in the following table:

Table 4. Average Reading Ability Between Phases

PhaseScore

Baseline (A1)57,5%

Intervention (B)93,75%

Baseline (A2)95,83%

Hypothesis testing in this study was conducted through visual analysis of changes in reading comprehension ability in each phase of the study, namely the initial baseline (A₁), intervention (B), and final baseline (A₂). The results of the analysis showed an increase in reading comprehension ability after the implementation of the Repeated Reading method. This is indicated by an increase in the mean level from 57.50% in phase A₁ to 93.75% in the intervention phase (B), then increasing again to 95.83% in phase A₂. In addition, the direction of the trend changed from a stable condition at a low level to increasing and stable at a higher level. The results of the overlap analysis between phases A₁ and B also showed a value of 0%, which indicates that all data in the intervention phase were above the highest value in the baseline phase. These findings indicate that changes in reading comprehension ability occurred consistently after the subjects received intervention using the Repeated Reading method.

Reading fluency observations also supported the improvement in reading comprehension skills. In the first baseline phase the subject still made 3 misreadings in the first session, which gradually reduced to only one word in the final session. Post-intervention, reading errors were reduced, and most intervention sessions and all final baseline sessions were free from reading errors. This condition means that through repeated reading practice, automation in word recognition can be increased, so that cognitive load during the reading process is reduced and the subject's attention is more focused on understanding the content of the reading. The result of the visual analysis showed that there was an increase in the mean level, a change in trend towards improvement, a high level of data stability, an overlap value of 0%, and the persistence of reading comprehension skills in the last phase of the baseline. Based on this, it can be concluded that the research hypothesis is supported. The Repeated Reading method has therefore proved effective in improving the reading comprehension skills of students at risk of learning difficulties in inclusive junior high schools and provides a sustainable effect even after the discontinuation of the intervention.

Discussion

The purpose of this research is to find out the effectiveness of the repeated reading method to improve reading comprehension of students with learning difficulties in inclusive junior high school. The results of the study with the A1–B–A2 pattern of Single Subject Research (SSR) design indicate that there was a significant increase in reading comprehension skills after the intervention was given. This increase was not only observed during the intervention phase (B) but also continued in phase A2, indicating that the learning outcomes persisted after the intervention was ceased. Consistent with Romig and Jetton (2023), the results of this study indicate that repeated reading interventions can significantly improve reading fluency for elementary through secondary students by increasing the accuracy and speed of reading words per minute. This increase in fluency is an important foundation in the development of reading comprehension, because a more automatic decoding process of the text allows cognitive resources to be diverted to the meaning of the text.

Additionally, Hansen et al. (2024) found that immediate repeated reading improved word processing efficiency and reading speed. This underscores the conclusion that repeated reading practice not only improves the mechanical aspects of reading but also increases the quality of text information processing, especially for learners with low reading ability or learning challenges. The study by Li et al. (2025), which demonstrated that an intervention focusing on enhancing reading fluency had a substantial influence on improving reading comprehension in students with reading difficulties, is pertinent to inclusive learning. Students' comprehension of text structure and content improved as a result of systematic and repeated interventions that helped them form more stable word recognition patterns.

The effectiveness of the participants in maintaining their reading comprehension skills at the A2 level indicates a maintenance effect of the repeated reading approach . This suggests that the improvements were more than temporary gains due to practicing on some texts; they had become more reliable abilities that could be applied to more difficult texts. This corroborates the findings of Pham et al. (2024) who claimed that structured repeated reading can improve the transfer of reading skills to different reading situations. Overall, the study’s results provide additional empirical evidence that repeated reading can improve reading comprehension, especially for inclusive school kids who have difficulty with learning. Research from 2019-2025 shows that improving reading fluency is one of the essential components that directly affect a better understanding of the text. This method should therefore be recommended as an evidence-based remedial learning technique for teaching reading in inclusive schools.

CONCLUSION

Based on the results of the research and data analysis conducted using the Single Subject Research (SSR) design with the A1–B–A2 pattern, it can be concluded that the Repeated Reading method is effective in improving the reading comprehension skills of students with learning difficulties in inclusive junior high schools. Reading comprehension ability showed improvement from the baseline phase (A1) with a mean of 57.5% to the intervention phase (B) with a mean of 93.75%. This change is consistent with a stable trend of an increase in data and performance in the high category. Furthermore, there was no overlap of data between phase A1 and phase B (0%), suggesting that the changes in ability were significantly affected by the intervention administered. The subjects’ ability in reading comprehension was still in the high category in the last baseline phase (A2) with the average level of 95.83%. This suggests that not only did the increase in ability occur during the intervention but the increase was maintained after the intervention was stopped thus suggesting a maintenance effect . In addition to the improvement of reading comprehension, the results of observations showed an increase in reading fluency which is characterized by a significant decrease in reading errors to the point that no errors were found in the intervention phase or phase A2. Thus, the alternative hypothesis (H₁) is accepted, that is, the Repeated Reading method is effective in improving the reading comprehension skills of students with learning difficulties.

The results of the research, it is suggested to use the repeated reading method as a strategy of learning to improve the reading comprehension skills of students at risk of experiencing learning difficulties in junior high schools inclusive. The application of this method is expected to be consistent, teachers apply it through repeated reading exercises, feedback and ongoing mentoring to achieve the optimal development of students’ reading skills. Schools need to support the implementation of this strategy by providing literacy programs, reading materials appropriate to students' abilities, and improving teacher competency in teaching reading in inclusive settings. Furthermore, parents are expected to play an active role in assisting their children in practicing reading regularly at home to strengthen the results of interventions carried out at school. For future researchers, this study can be expanded by involving a larger number of subjects, a longer intervention duration, and examining the effect of repeated reading on other variables, such as reading motivation, reading interest, writing ability, and academic achievement, so that more comprehensive empirical evidence is obtained regarding the effectiveness of this method in supporting learning in inclusive education.