ANALYSIS OF EARLY READING LITERACY SKILLS IN SECOND GRADE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN KAHAYAN TENGAH SUBDISTRICT, PULANG PISAU REGENCY

Alifiah Nurachmana

Abstrak

Abstract: The learning outcome for Phase A of the 2025 Curriculum for second grade students is the ability to read simple words fluently from a text. Ideally, all students should be able to read letters, words, phrases, clauses, and sentences. However, based on data from the Pulang Pisau Regency Education Office, there are still many elementary school students who are suspected of having below-standard literacy skills, and many elementary school students who still have low initial reading skills. This shows a gap between learning achievement requirements and student abilities in school. The purpose of this study was to analyze the initial literacy reading abilities of second-grade elementary school students in Kahayan Tengah Subdistrict, Pulau Pisau District, in recognizing letters, reading open syllables, reading closed syllables, reading words, reading phrases, and reading sentences. This study used a quantitative descriptive approach. The research instruments were tests on reading letters, open and closed syllables, words, phrases, and sentences. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics to describe the achievement of each reading indicator. The reliability of the instruments was tested using inter- rater reliability with a value of
≥ 0.70. The research procedure included preparation, observation, test implementation, data analysis, and conclusion drawing, which were presented narratively and graphically. The results showed that the initial literacy reading ability of second-grade elementary school students in Kahayan Tengah Subdistrict in terms of letter recognition was very good at 84.21%, fair to good at 15.78%, and none were in the poor category. However, students' abilities began to decline in the aspects of reading open syllables (very good 73.68%), closed syllables (very good 63.15%), and reading words with the same achievement of 63.15%. A further decline was seen in the aspect of reading phrases and sentences, with an excellent achievement of only 57.89%, while the fair category was 26.31% and the poor category was 15.78%. These findings indicate that the more complex the form of language units read, the more students' achievements tend to decline, so that more focused and gradual reading learning strategies are needed to improve reading skills at higher levels.
Keywords: early reading skills; basic literacy; elementary school students