ENHANCING COMPREHENSION IN LOW ACHIEVING 9TH GRADERS: A QUASI-EXPERIMENT STUDY

This article describes the application of a Comprehension Strategies Programme (CSP) designedto improve the reading comprehension of students with learning difficulties. The programme wasimplemented with 102 ninth grade students from Portuguese public schools with low achievement on aparticular subject: Portuguese. An evaluation was done on the effects of the programme on reading comprehensionand on school achievement. The Experimental Group presented significant improvementswhen compared to the Control Group (n=108) on the dimensions considered. This indicates that the CSPcan bring benefits to low achieving students who have Portuguese as a mother tongue.