Analyzing Reading Problems of Senior High School Graduates in Tehran Based on AMZA Test Data (Regarding their Gender and Major)

The main purpose of the present study was to examine reading problems of senior high school graduates of Tehran based on ‘AMZA’ test data regarding the variables of gender and major. AMZA’ test is known as the first test for assessing the language and literary skills of senior high school graduates which was held by Academy of Persian Language and Literature in academic year of 2013-14. For the purpose of this study, the AMZA data for a sample size of 377 students (197 females and 180 males) in three disciplines of humanities, sciences and mathematics (106, 90 and 181participants, respectively) was analyzed. At first, the test items were categorized with respect to the type of text and micro-skills involved. Then, using the descriptive and inferential statistics the data was analyzed with regard to the participants’ gender and major, which yielded in the overall weakness of the participants in reading skill. The results of data analysis showed that the mean score of participants’ reading skills was 10.25 out of 20, which in comparison to the standard band score of ministry of education (12) is indicative of the participants’ inability in acquiring the least amount of education. There was no significant difference between the participants’ overall mean scores and their scores in micro-skills of reading regarding their gender, though according to the descriptive statistics, the overall mean score of females was higher than males. Similarly, there was no significant difference between the participants’ overallmean scores with respect to their major. However, among the mean scores of reading micro-skills, there was a significant difference between the students of Humanities and Sciences in the area of "direct comprehension of the text", which shows a better performance of the former group. Moreover, there was a significant difference among participants’ overall results in the four types of text used in the test questions, so that their mean score in answering the questions of linguistic texts was higher than those of the old literary text. However, no such significant difference was found with regard to the participants’ major. The results of the present study showthat strategies like reforming the curriculum of the senior high school, choosing an appropriate educational program, changing the teachers’ teaching methods, and holding systematic and standard assessment courses for the reading skill, can prove helpful in enhancing the students’ reading skills .