THE INFLUENCE OF COLLABORATIVE STRATEGIC READING ON EIGHT GRADE STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION IN DESCRIPTIVE TEXT
This research aims to examine the influence of Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) on eighth grade students' reading comprehension in descriptive text at MTs Negeri Tarakan. It used a pre-experimental research design with a one-group pre-test and post-test method. A total of 31 students participated in this study. The research instruments consisted of reading comprehension tests and observation sheets. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical methods. The results of the observation sheet were analyzed qualitatively. The results indicated that students' reading comprehension improved after being taught using the CSR strategy. The pre-test average score was 64.03, while the post-test average score increased to 74.68. The highest increase occurred in the aspect of finding specific information, while the lowest increase occurred in the aspect of determining the meaning of vocabulary. The Wilcoxon test showed a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores, which confirmed the effectiveness of CSR in improving students' reading comprehension. Despite the improvement, some students still encountered difficulties, especially in understanding vocabulary. This suggests that additional instructional support, such as vocabulary enrichment activities, is required. Overall, this research concludes that CSR is an effective strategy to improve students' reading comprehension, especially in identifying important information from a text.