Content analysis of levels and aspects of comprehension in West African senior secondary school examination

Abstract

Background: Reading is one of the most complex and exclusively human mental activities. It is a foundational skill for all learning, whether at primary, secondary or tertiary levels. If students do not master effective strategies for reading, they may not be successful independent learners. The ability to comprehend written texts and answer relevant questions on them is a major feature that is examined in comprehension in the West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination.

Objective: This study was directed at analysing the content of the English language comprehension questions in the West African School Certificate Examination to identify the intensities of testing different aspects of comprehension so that teachers can lay emphasis on these aspects when they teach reading strategies to their students.

Method: The content analytical approach was used to identify the different aspects and levels of the comprehension passages. The analysis of the content was carried out by focusing on 10 different content sub-categories.

Results: The study revealed that most of the comprehension passages presented had never been used before and they were related to the students’ local environment. Literal and inferential questions dominated while critical and evaluative questions were rarely asked.

Conclusion: In the light of the pedagogic importance of critical and evaluative questions, it is recommended that examiners and teachers should lay emphasis on questions that demand higher-order reasoning to prepare students for the contemporary demands of literacy. In line with higher-order questions, it is also suggested that the curriculum should be amended to encourage critical evaluative thinking among secondary school students as it is an important part of literacy and language development.

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Reading & Wring - Journal of the Reading Associaon of South Africa
ISSN: (Online) 2308-1422, (Print) 2079-8245
Page 1 of 10 Original Research
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Author:
Funmilayo M. Oguntade1
Aliaon:
1Department of General
Studies, School of Sciences,
Federal University of
Technology Akure, Akure,
Nigeria
Corresponding author:
Funmilayo Oguntade,
fmoguntade@futa.edu.ng
Dates:
Received: 22 July 2020
Accepted: 24 May 2021
Published: 30 July 2021
How to cite this arcle:
Oguntade, F.M., 2021,
‘Content analysis of levels
and aspects of
comprehension in West
African senior secondary
school examinaon’, Reading
& Wring 12(1), a293.
hps://doi.org/10.4102/
rw.v12i1.293
Copyright:
© 2021. The Authors.
Licensee: AOSIS. This work
is licensed under the
Creave Commons
Aribuon License. Introducon
Reading is one of the most complex and exclusively human mental activities. It is one of the
language skills that people must acquire before they can be considered literate. Reading is an
important aspect of learning a language or learning in general. Reading is a receptive skill just like
listening (Oyinloye 2002). Reading involves eye movement, speech, comprehension and
vocabulary. In Nigeria, where this study is situated, students have varying levels of text
comprehension. This could be attributed to the students’ levels of independent reading, their
socio-economic background, or their cognitive ability to interact with the coded message in a text,
among many other factors (Oyetunde 2002). Jude and Ajayi (2012) posit that the problem of poor
reading comprehension usually leads to low academic achievement levels, which may lead to
failure, frustration in reading and even students dropping out of schools. Comprehension
involves reasoning and the ability to make meaningful interpretation of written symbols
throughout the reading process. In reading comprehension, the readers require the vital skill to
read and recognise the form and supporting ideas of an argument, grasp details, and recast using
their background knowledge, to understand complex ideas presented in a given text.
Comprehension is the aptitude to respond appropriately to matters raised in the text in question
form. Comprehension is defined as the ability to respond correctly to questions derived through
‘wh’-question transformations on the syntactic structure of given passages (Jude & Ajayi 2012).
Cabral and Tavares (2002) assert that when one reads, it is imperative to understand what has
been read; students who cannot readily reconstruct the author’s main idea, or identify the
Background: Reading is one of the most complex and exclusively human mental activities. It
is a foundational skill for all learning, whether at primary, secondary or tertiary levels. If
students do not master effective strategies for reading, they may not be successful independent
learners. The ability to comprehend written texts and answer relevant questions on them is a
major feature that is examined in comprehension in the West African Senior Secondary School
Certificate Examination.
Objective: This study was directed at analysing the content of the English language
comprehension questions in the West African School Certificate Examination to identify the
intensities of testing different aspects of comprehension so that teachers can lay emphasis on
these aspects when they teach reading strategies to their students.
Method: The content analytical approach was used to identify the different aspects and levels
of the comprehension passages. The analysis of the content was carried out by focusing on 10
different content sub-categories.
Results: The study revealed that most of the comprehension passages presented had never
been used before and they were related to the students’ local environment. Literal and
inferential questions dominated while critical and evaluative questions were rarely asked.
Conclusion: In the light of the pedagogic importance of critical and evaluative questions, it is
recommended that examiners and teachers should lay emphasis on questions that demand
higher-order reasoning to prepare students for the contemporary demands of literacy. In line
with higher-order questions, it is also suggested that the curriculum should be amended to
encourage critical evaluative thinking among secondary school students as it is an important
part of literacy and language development.
Keywords: content analysis; language testing; comprehension passages; secondary school.
Content analysis of levels and aspects
of comprehension in West African senior
secondary school examinaon
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supporting ideas and supporting facts as well as some critical
evaluation of a given passage or text, cannot read for their
course, irrespective of what types of material they read
outside of class. Reading comprehension is the ability to
read, understand, process, and recall what was just read.
Rutzler (2020) submits that having excellent reading
comprehension skills is crucial because it increases the
enjoyment and effectiveness of reading and helps people
academically, professionally and in real life. Students in
secondary schools are being trained for the challenges of
higher learning in higher institutions. A student that is not
properly established in literacy skills may find it difficult to
cope at the tertiary level. The development of essential
intellectual and study skills, namely reading, writing and
reasoning, is stated to be the basis for the success of any
tertiary student (Fairbairn & Winch 1996). The ability to read
with understanding should, however, not be taken for
granted. Not all students can read proficiently at the required
level for successful academic performance.
Teachers of English language in secondary schools in Nigeria,
Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia and Liberia are expected to
cover the entire curriculum for English language as designed
by the West African Examination Council (WAEC). The
curriculum is designed to help learners understand spoken
English, to be understood when communicating in English,
to be able to comprehend what they read, and to write
effectively for others to understand. The different
competencies of teachers of the English language, and their
interest in different aspects of the subject matter, may result
in teachers laying more emphasis on certain aspects of the
English Language curriculum than others. English is the
medium of communication in the five countries that jointly
run the WAEC. English is thus a critical subject that students
must pass at credit level to proceed to a higher institution in
all the countries where the examination is conducted. The
ability of students to comprehend written text and answer
questions on them is a major feature that is examined in the
comprehension section of the West African Senior Secondary
School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). This study was
directed at examining the content of the English Language
comprehension questions in the WASSCE to identify the
intensities of testing of different aspects of the comprehension
examination paper. This is an area that is yet to be covered by
researchers. The main aim of this study is embedded in the
research questions: what are the various contents of
comprehension passages in WASSCE? What are the levels
and the aspects of comprehension tested in the WASSCE
English Language examination?
Importance of reading
comprehension
Comprehension skills are important in language fluency
and are necessary for language and literacy development.
They are related to all subjects and are imperative to
advancement in school. Strong comprehension skills are
required for students to excel in standardised state testing as
well as placement testing at primary, secondary and tertiary
levels. Comprehension skills need to be applied by students
at all levels of education. It is a skill that every student must
practise frequently throughout every level of school.
Reading comprehension skills will help students not only in
English class but in all areas of academic study. Moore (2016)
posits that comprehension skills acquired early in life and
practised often and refined throughout primary school and
secondary school will ensure students’ success in tertiary
institutions and in their future career (Moore 2016). Reading
is one of the most important academic tasks carried out by
students either in primary or secondary schools, or tertiary
institutions. The only difference is that students are exposed
to several texts and textbooks that require independent
reading in the tertiary institutions and at this level they are
expected to comprehend what they read so that they can
analyse, critique, evaluate and synthesise information from
various sources. Unfortunately, many students gaining
admission into these tertiary institutions are ill-prepared to
meet these challenges. Many researchers in applied
linguistics and reading research have shown that there is a
relationship between reading proficiency and academic
success (Grisso 2018; Stoffelsma & Spooren 2018). They
believe that poor reading ability results in poor academic
attainment which eventually affects overall literacy
development. At secondary schools in Nigeria, students are
required to read and understand texts from many different
content areas in schools. Thus students at this level need to
develop the necessary reading skills to succeed in their
academics. Many of them do not have problems with reading
words accurately but lack comprehension. Given the impact
that reading comprehension has on secondary school
students’ success in their academics, it is essential to look at
the contents of the comprehension examination in WASSCE.
This will reveal the aspects and levels of comprehension in
which the students need to have proficiency.
Aspects and levels of comprehension
The Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks (2015)
asserts that understanding listening or reading texts generally
entails three main levels of comprehension, namely literal,
interpretive and applied. On the other hand, Campton
College (n.d.) identifies six levels of comprehension: literal,
inferential, appreciative, critique, evaluative and essential.
Other researchers, such as Ofodu, Babalola and Dada (2010)
and Lasisi (2003), identify literal, inferential, and critical or
evaluative levels of comprehension. For many years, until
recently, WAEC ensured that two comprehension passages
were given to their students. This is an indication that they
are interested in the impact comprehension can have on
students. The content of the comprehension passages and the
level of comprehension tested were looked into critically to
see the trend of questions, types of comprehension and
sources (excerpt or newly composed) of the comprehension
passages given to students in WASSCE over the years so that
researchers can make recommendations on what can be done
to help students and determine ways to improve any
shortcomings or gaps that may be discovered.

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This study uses three levels of comprehension, namely literal,
inferential or interpretive, and critical or evaluative. The
literal level of comprehension involves understanding the
specific information in the text, that is, the main ideas, facts
and stated points of view. The literal level is a prerequisite for
higher-level reading and thinking (Linde & Fredrickson 2020).
The inferential or interpretive level requires that readers or
listeners make use of the information at the literal level to
make inferences. At this level, readers can identify implicit
relationships which are relationships that are not directly
stated. Also at this level, readers can identify unstated reasons
for actions or beliefs based on explicitly stated information or
clues from the text. Conclusions can also be drawn based on
specific facts, events, images, patterns or symbols found in the
text (reading levels of comprehension [Mt. San Antonio
College 2018]). At the critical or evaluative level, readers can
understand ideas and information well enough to analyse,
judge and critique the information and ideas. At this level, a
reader is also able to explain and support their judgment
clearly and can justify their stance (Mt. San Antonio College
2018). The critical or evaluative skill is required at the tertiary
level where students will be exposed to more complicated
materials. If students are poor in critical evaluation of texts or
situations, they will not be able to cope with life challenges
and academic studies. Apart from testing students’ level of
comprehension, other aspects like grammatical structure and
functions, idiomatic expressions, figures of speech and
vocabulary could also be tested in comprehension because
examiners believe that mastery of all these aspects will aid
comprehension. Nordquist (2019) opines that sentence
structure in English grammar is arranging words, phrases
and clauses in a sentence and that the grammatical function or
meaning of a sentence hinges on this structural configuration.
Organising expressions (thoughts) into structures suggests
the intentions of the speaker or author to an audience. It is a
technique that allows both the author and the audience to
know what the author is trying to convey (Gitlina 2010). The
understanding of the structures of the language is put into
practice in compositions and comprehension passages where
conscious consideration of the structure of the expression is
used as a guideline to the meaning of the expression. Most
students need some form of structure to their learning and to
be actively and purposely engaged in their learning process.
As a result, WAEC over the years (1988–2020) has tried to
examine students’ knowledge about grammatical structures
and functions by asking them to identify some underlined
expressions within the comprehension passages given to
them in English Language examination. Over the years the
questions have been similar in the sense that the same pattern
of questions has been set, with slight variation in the number
of questions. For example, the questions have been on literal,
inferential, grammatical and idiomatic aspects.
Students’ knowledge of vocabulary is very critical to the
understanding of a text. Comprehension is better when the
reader knows the meaning of most of the words. Hu and
Nation (2000) reported that their participants needed to
know 98% – 99% of words in texts before adequate
comprehension was possible, hence the importance of
vocabulary cannot be overestimated. John (2017) opines that
the link between vocabulary and the goal of reading
comprehension is enormous. He further argues that if a
student does not know the meaning of a word they will not
be able to make sense of what they have read. Alqahtani
(2015) posits that vocabulary knowledge is often viewed as a
critical tool for second language learners because a limited
vocabulary impedes successful communication. A robust
vocabulary, however, advances all areas of communication
in the second language which are listening, speaking, reading
and writing (Alexander 2020). Students are asked to give the
contextual meaning of words taken from a given
comprehension passage in the WASSCE. For students to
acquire more vocabulary, language researchers believe that
students need to read extensively, to do so using different
texts and to make reading a habit.
Understanding of figures of speech is also important. This is
one of the aspects of comprehension that is tested in WASSCE.
A figure of speech is a word or phrase using figurative
language. It is language that has another meaning than its
literal definition. A figure of speech relies on implied or
suggested meaning, rather than a dictionary definition. The
purpose of a figure of speech is to lend texture and colour to
writing. An idiomatic expression (idiom) is an example of
figurative expression (word or phrase) that has a meaning
that is conventionally understood by native speakers. Idioms
can be difficult to understand if a reader is not a native
speaker of the language, because it is influenced by the
culture and it allows a writer to draw on a rich cultural
tradition and express complex ideas (Thyab 2016).
Eect of schema on comprehension
In presenting comprehension passages for examination,
Garth-McCullough (2008) suggests that different perspectives
such as the students’ background knowledge (schemata),
their socio-economic and cultural backgrounds should be
taken into consideration. Rumelhart (1980) suggests that a
schema theory is a theory about knowledge. Students’
background or prior knowledge is an important factor in
determining how readers process the information available
in written texts (Garth-McCullough 2008). Comprehension
requires the reader to link prior knowledge with the new
knowledge for comprehension to take place. For readers to
comprehend communicative material, they apply their
beliefs about the world and what they already know about
the present topic as a lens through which they interpret and
understand the message the writer is trying to convey (Garth-
McCullough 2008). The prior knowledge of students is in
relation to some features of the text being read and these
features include the origin of the text (local or foreign), source
(newly composed text or an excerpt) and type (fiction,
science, art, socio-economic, political, cross-cutting, historical,
education). A text that is local in origin will likely contain
ideas with which the students will be familiar. For example,
a text addressing seasons of the year from the temperate
environment would describe spring, summer, autumn and
winter as against the rainy and dry seasons that the African

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students are familiar with. Students who have read widely
stand the chance of having come across reading texts that are
excerpts, hence finding the comprehension examination
easy; this is in contrast to reading texts that are newly
composed by the examiner. The type of text can limit the
extent to which the readers’ prior knowledge aids their
understanding of the text. For instance, science-oriented texts
treating issues such as climate change, the ozone layer and
the greenhouse effect will most likely be strange to readers
without a background in science. Widdowson (1978) observes
that ‘the learner may simply not feel himself in any way
engaged by the text being presented to him’ if they read texts
not from their background. Ali (2016) confirmed in his
research that linking the gist of the passages to ‘real-world’
language can provide a sense of purpose. These three
attributes of the text to be read (source, origin and type) have
effects on the extent to which the reader’s prior knowledge
helps them comprehend the text. Attributes of comprehension
in this study are regarded as type, source and origin while
the different aspects tested by examiners which have to do
with the content of the comprehension are: literal, inferential,
critical or evaluative, figures of speech, grammatical
structures and their functions, idiomatic expression, and
vocabulary.
21st century literacy
Literacy in the 21st century demands the ability to move
confidently, efficiently and ethically between wide ranges of
written and visual, print, live, digital or electronic text types
according to purpose. (Primary English Teaching Association
Australia [PETAA] n.d.)
‘Reading competence has a significant impact on the future
of students. It can affect their level of education after
secondary school as well as their career choices and eventual
lifestyles’ (Hock & Deshler, as cited in Joseph 2008). Students
in secondary school should be prepared for bigger challenges
that they will likely face in the higher institution and beyond
by gradually introducing them to skills that will enable them
to cope. It is therefore imperative that the literacy skills of
students be developed in their entirety right from primary
school through secondary school, and hence should be
assessed in the WAEC examinations.
Problems aecng comprehension
Considering that reading is a foundational skill for all
learning, students who experience problems in
comprehending texts, may not be successful independent
learners. They will have challenges that will have a
significant impact on their academic success after secondary
school (Bell 2004). The reason why comprehension
challenges may impact negatively on students’ success is
that at the higher institution of learning there will be higher
academic demands that will require higher cognitive tasks
than what is being demanded in secondary school. Students
who are adequately trained on how to use these skills from
secondary school will have the potential of succeeding in
their future endeavours. Oyinloye (2002) identifies some
problems affecting students in comprehension examination
such as the students’ inability to identify the main ideas in a
given passage, make inferences from what they have read,
understand the information that is not directly stated, and
identify the plot of the story. There are also some factors
outside the classroom that affect language learning and
achievement such as the socio-economic backgrounds of
students. This can have an impact on language learning and
achievement (Ginsborg 2014). Poor background in the
English language may limit the ability of students to
comprehend since English is not their first language.
Students who grew up in homes where their parents are
illiterate may not get academic assistance from home and
there is usually a disconnection from school when they get
home. Students who have educated parents are usually
encouraged by their parents to read extensively.
Researchers in the past have tried to look into various areas of
comprehension passages. Ali (2016) in his research
investigated how background knowledge affects students’
comprehension of passages using students from the
Department of English, College of Arts, University of Basrah.
It was discovered that students who received the background
information before treatment comprehended the passage
better. This suggests that passages where the students are
familiar with the underlying concepts and themes are easier
to comprehend. Thus, when examiners draw comprehension
passages from sources in the students’ local environment,
they make it easier for the students to comprehend. Alonzo
et al. (2009) in their research used a one-parameter Rasch
model to examine the relative difficulty of different multiple-
choice reading comprehension items assessing students’
literal, inferential and evaluative comprehension of fictional
narratives. The difficulty of questions derived from concepts
identified as important components of reading comprehension
by state content standards was also examined. These
components include character, prediction and plot sequence.
It was revealed from their findings that there is a curvilinear
relationship between literal, inferential and evaluative
comprehension. It was established that literal comprehension
was the easiest while inferential and evaluative comprehension
were considered to be more challenging. The findings also
indicate that assessment objectives differ based on difficulty.
This study examined the students’ level of comprehension by
asking multiple-choice questions. The main difference in this
testing is that they did not test all of the other aspects such as
figures of speech, grammatical structures and their functions,
vocabulary and idiomatic expressions.
Researchers have used content analysis techniques to analyse
the body of a text and other communication materials to
identify concepts, themes and ideas that regularly occur
within the texts and communication materials (Mayring
2014). The content analytical technique can be used to analyse
education and examination materials (Kleinheksel et al.
2020). This study will use content analysis to locate the
different aspects and levels of comprehension.

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This study intends to identify aspects of comprehension that
are tested often in WASSCE to encourage teachers to lay
more emphasis on those aspects when preparing students for
the English Language examination. Students will also be
enlightened on what they need to watch out for when
reading any text to develop their cognitive strategies
for reading comprehension, in particular for the WAEC
examination.
Theorecal framework
This study spans two subject matter areas, namely reading
comprehension and content analysis, which was used to
analyse the comprehension examination given by WAEC at
WASSCE. This study is tilted towards the cognitive interactive
reading theories. Cognitive interactive reading theories place
equal emphasis on a reader’s schema and the print on the
page as the basis of comprehending the content of the text
(Cornejo 2014). These theories opine that instruction word,
sentence and text meaning are accustomed, influenced or
moulded by the whole set of experiences and knowledge the
reader brings to reading (Kirby 2007). Reading is hence a
dialogue between the reader and the text and it involves an
active cognitive process in which the reader’s background
knowledge performs a crucial part in the construction of
meaning (Shihab 2011). Thus, within the content analytical
methodology employed in this study, the schema of the
secondary school students was considered in terms of the
attributes (type, source and origin) of the comprehension
passages presented to the students by WAEC.
Content analysis is a method designed to identify and
interpret meaning in recorded forms of communication by
isolating the salient concepts and then creating a framework
to organise the concepts in a way that can be used to describe
a phenomenon (Kleinheksel et al. 2020). Mayring (2014)
identified five modern hermeneutic approaches to content
analysis; these are approaches in which the text has to be
interpreted by the formulation of the analyst’s preconceptions,
the intentions of the text’s author have to be found out and
an additional explaining text has to be formulated. The five
approaches are: (1) objective hermeneutics which draws
inferences based on the objective of the social structures
behind the text, (2) grounded theory which rests on a
procedure of coding textual materials and defining the codes,
(3) psychoanalytical text interpretation which was developed
to draw inferences from the text to a deep structure of the
contents, (4) phenomenological analysis which is directed at
analysing the phenomenon through variation and reduction
to its core concept, and (5) biographical analysis which
interprets open-ended textual materials on individual life
courses. This study utilises the grounded theory and
phenomenological analysis approaches. Coding rules were
developed based on some phenomena (attributes) unique to
the comprehension passages and the questions.
The coding rules are the basis for categorisation and
enumeration in content analytical techniques. The
application of the categorisation process to the text identifies
the relevant units that are unique to each category.
Enumerations of the text based on the categorisation lead to
the development of relative frequencies or other statistical
indices of the distribution of categories. The statistical
measures so computed are measures of permeation
(Krippendorff 1967). For this study, the categorisation and
enumeration resulted in the frequency counts that are
presented in the tables.
Kleinheksel et al. (2020) classify content analysis into latent and
manifest. Latent content analysis involves the interpretation of
what is hidden deep within the text: the researcher attempts to
discover the implied meaning in the text. Manifest analysis is
conducted in a way that the researcher is thought to maintain
distance and separation from the objects of study (texts).
According to Krippendorff (1967), it is based on some message
characteristic (categorisation) that produces uniformity of
comprehension for a large majority of the audience, that is, it
is intersubjectively verifiable. In this study, manifest content
analysis was carried out. To ascertain the extent to which the
categorisation will yield intersubjectively verifiable results,
the inter-coder reliability test was also conducted.
Methodology
Research design
The study was based on the analysis of secondary time series
data. These data were secondary because they were not
generated directly by the researcher and they were time
series because they covered several years. The purposive
sampling technique was used to select a time series of Paper
I Section B of English Language questions of WASSCE
covering 24 years. This section contains the comprehension
passages. The questions for the 24 consecutive years were
selected to ensure an adequate trend was available. In all, 48
passages were covered by the study. The main analytical
approach used in this study was content analysis. The widely
accepted term for systematic inquiries into communication is
content analysis. To do content analysis, key symbols and
themes items are classified and tabulated to ascertain their
meanings and probable effects. Content analysis as a research
method is a systematic and objective means of describing
and quantifying phenomena (Downe-Wamboldt 1992;
Sandelowski 1995). Content analysis is a research method
used to make replicable and effective interpretations and
coding textual material and it systematically evaluates texts
such as documents, oral communication, and graphics
(Gheyle & Jacobs 2017). Duriau, Reger and Pfarrer (2007)
define content analysis as a class of research methods at the
intersection of the qualitative and quantitative traditions. It is
promising for rigorous exploration of many important but
difficult-to-study issues of interest. Comprehension is one
such difficult issue because it is the ability to analyse, critique,
evaluate and synthesise information from various sources.
Many second language learners of English have challenges
with comprehending texts not because they cannot read, but
because reading requires making use of different types of

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skills at the same time. Comprehension could be influenced
by the students’ background, culture, socio-economic status,
the teaching style of their teachers, among others. Franzosi
(2004) describes content analysis as an objective, systematic
and quantitative description of the content. For this study
content analysis coding rules were used. The rules were
developed specifically for analysing the selected
comprehension passages. The rules were discussed with the
other five WAEC examiners (these are English teachers who
mark the WASSCE English Language Paper I) and reviewed
based on their comments. An intercoder reliability test was
conducted to test the reliability of the coding rules. To test
for intercoder reliability, a reliability sub-sample was
created. This comprised comprehension passage Paper I
past questions for 3 years. Three research assistants were
trained on how to use the coding rules. These comprehension
passages were analysed based on the coding rules. The
intercoder reliability is to ensure that the coding rules are
appropriate and that the concepts coded are clear enough to
enter into the spreadsheet. A concurrence of 80% and above
implies that the coding rules and instructions are adequate
to ensure intercoder reliability. If the concurrence is lower
than 80%, the coding rules will be revised and the coders
retrained while the intercoder reliability test will be re-
conducted (Macnamara 2005). For this study, a concurrence
of 82% was obtained.
The coding rules were used to analyse the content of the
comprehension passages and corresponding questions
were analysed for 24 years covered by the study. The output
of the coding was initially entered into a spreadsheet before
being exported to the statistical package for analysis. The
analytical tools used were descriptive statistics comprising
mainly frequency distribution, percentages, mean, median
and mode. In carrying out content analysis, texts were
analysed to determine the frequency of occurrence of
specific concepts or words within the texts and coded into
categories for building inferences. For the inferences to be
valid, the classification procedure must be consistent
(Weber 1990).
In Table 1, following Elo and Kynga (2008), the
comprehension passages were categorised by type, source
and origin. Types of comprehension were identified as
fiction, science, art, socio-economic, political, cross-cutting,
historical and educational while there were two sources:
excerpt or newly composed. Origin consists of local, foreign
or not known. These were the attributes of the comprehension
passages. The aspects that dealt with the content of
comprehension tested were: literal, inferential, critical or
evaluative, figures of speech, idiomatic expression,
grammatical structure and function, and vocabulary
questions. These content subcategories were developed
based on the literature reviewed and the WASSCE English
Language curriculum. The contents of the comprehension
passages and questions were then analysed and coded
using the coding scheme.
Results
Contents of comprehension passages tested in
West African Senior Secondary School
Cercate Examinaon
Type, source and origin of comprehension passages
The attributes of the comprehension passages, namely type,
source and origin of the passage, may influence the students’
ability to comprehend the passages. Secondary school
students are usually grouped into arts, commercial and
science classes. While students in the arts and commercial
classes may be disadvantaged if the comprehension passage
is science-oriented, they may have an advantage if the
passage falls into the category of socio-economic, historical
and arts-related stories. Comprehension passages could be
excerpts or newly composed. Excerpts are comprehension
passages that were taken from a longer whole of any text.
Passages that were newly composed are expected to be new
to the students whereas it is not impossible that some of the
students may have come across an excerpt; if that be the case,
understanding such an excerpt will be easier for the reader.
Comprehension passages that are local in origin will most
likely address themes that are not completely strange to the
students and this can aid comprehension.
Types of comprehension passages
The analysis of the comprehension passages based on the
attribute type of comprehension passages is presented in
Table 2. The table presents the frequency distribution of the
types of comprehension passages for 24 years. The passages
that are fiction had the highest percentage with 39.6%. This
was followed by passages dealing with socio-economic
issues with 33.35% while science-related passages accounted
for only 8.35% of the passages. Arts and political discourse
passages had 4.2% each while historical and educational
passages had 6.25% and 4.15%. The fiction passages were the
products of the examiners’ imagination and there was no
possibility of the candidates having come across the stories
earlier. Also, the high preponderance of passages that are
socio-economic may be a reflection of the importance of
socio-economic challenges in national discourse in WAEC
member countries. The examiners may assume the students
TABLE 1: Coding scheme for content analysis.
Generic category Sub-category Items
Passage aributes Type Ficon, science, art,
socio-economic, polical,
cross-cung, historical,
educaon
Source Excerpt, newly composed
Origin Local, foreign, not known
Queson aributes Literal meaning
Inferenal meaning
Figures of speech
Grammacal structures and
their funcons
Meaning of idiomac
expressions
Crical or evaluave
Test of vocabulary
Source: Adapted from Elo, S. & Kynga, H., 2008, ‘The qualitave content analysis process’,
Journal of Advanced Nursing 62(1), 107–115. hps://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04569.x

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need to be abreast of the critical socio-economic issues that
were on the front burners of WAEC member countries. Issues
covered in the passages include crime, cultism, marriage and
unemployment. The implication of this is that teachers of
English language comprehension need to cover the topical
socio-economic issues in the countries while teaching the
students. Also, they can encourage their students to read
newspapers where they can obtain information on current
issues and learn related vocabularies. The lower relative
weights of arts and science-related passages mean that the
examiners were conscious of the need not to put students
who specialise in either of the two categories at a disadvantage
in the English language comprehension examination. It could
also be that the examiners expect students to at least have
some knowledge in arts and science concepts in the course of
their study in school. The science passages are in most cases
educative and topical. Typical examples are discourse on
ozone layer depletion and climate change.
Sources of comprehension passages
Table 3 presents the categorisation of comprehension
passages by sources. There are just two sources: newly
composed and excerpt. Newly composed passages were the
passages that never existed before the examination, unlike
excerpts which were drawn from already existing texts. The
newly composed text has the highest frequency of occurrence
with 87.5% while comprehensions that are excerpts have just
12.5% occurrence. The implication of this result is to inform
teachers that they need to prepare the students by giving
them different texts that will give the students different
exposure to issues from all walks of life. This will help in
developing their background knowledge which will
eventually aid how they will comprehend the text as advised
by Ali (2016) who confirmed in his research that linking the
gist of the passages to ‘real-world’ language can provide a
sense of purpose.
Origins of comprehension passages
Table 4 presents the categorisation of the comprehension
passages based on origin. There are three categories under
origin, namely local, foreign and not known. Comprehension
passages that are local in origin have the highest frequency
with 62.5% occurrence followed by passages whose sources
are unknown with 29.15% of occurrence. Passages of foreign
origin had the lowest frequency of occurrence at 8.35%.
Given this result, it appears the examiners are conscious of
the fact that students will understand stories that they are
familiar with, more than those that have a foreign background.
Passages of local origin will be better understood because
they will most likely contain ideas with which the students
will be familiar. For example, a text addressing seasons of the
year from the temperate environment would describe spring,
summer, autumn and winter as against the rainy and dry
seasons that the African students are familiar with. In
literature, Garth-McCullough (2008) suggests that different
perspectives such as the students’ background knowledge
(schemata), their socio-economic and cultural backgrounds
should be taken into consideration.
Relave importance of types of quesons
Table 5 shows that seven different types of questions were
identified in the 48 passages covered. It also presents
information on the frequency of occurrence of each type of
question in the 48 passages. The types of questions presented
to students in English language comprehension examination
were literal, inferential, figures of speech, grammatical
structure and functions, and idiomatic expression. The table
also contains information on the average number of times
(mean, median and mode) a particular type of question, for
example literary questions, came up in a comprehension
passage.
Table 5 shows that vocabulary questions and literal questions
were the most frequent during the 24 years covered by the
study. Each of them had a 97.9% frequency of occurrence.
Further comparison of these two types of question reveals
that literal meaning questions had an average rate of
occurrence of four literary questions per passage while
vocabulary test question had an average rate of occurrence of
one question per passage. Teachers of English hence need to
pay more attention to the two types of questions while
teaching their students.
The next type of question that was important in terms of
frequency of occurrence and hence should be given special
attention by teachers of English language for the WASSCE is
the grammatical structure which had the frequency
occurrence of 93.75. The question with the lowest frequency
of occurrence was critical or evaluative with 4.2%. This is an
TABLE 3: Sources of comprehension passages.
Sources Passage 1 Passage 2 Passages 1 and 2
Frequency %Frequency %Frequency %
Excerpt 3 12.5 3 12.5 6 12.5
Newly composed 21 87.5 21 87.5 42 87.5
Total 24 100.0 24 100.0 48 100.0
TABLE 2: Types of comprehension passages.
Type of
passage
Passage 1 Passage 2 Passages 1 and 2 Mean
frequency
per year
Frequency %Frequency %Frequency %
Ficon 10 41.7 9 37.5 19 39.6 0.79
Science 1 4.2 3 12.5 4 8.35 0.17
Arts 1 4.2 1 4.2 2 4.2 0.08
Socio-
economic
6 25 10 41.7 16 33.35 0.67
Polical 1 4.2 1 4.2 2 4.2 0.08
Historical 3 12.5 0 0 3 6.25 0.13
Educaon 2 8.3 0 0 2 4.15 0.08
Total 24 100.0 24 100.0 48 100.0 -
TABLE 4: Origin of the comprehension passages.
Origin Passage 1 Passage 2 Passages 1 and 2 Mean
frequency
per year
Frequency %Frequency %Frequency %
Local 16 66.7 14 58.3 30 62.5 1.25
Foreign 3 12.5 1 4.2 4 8.35 0.17
Not known 5 20.8 9 37.5 14 29.15 0.58
Total 24 100.0 24 100.0 48 100.0 -

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indication that in WASSCE students are not expected at this
level to be saddled with higher-order thinking to a great
extent.
Discussion
The research question addressed in this study is: what are the
different contents of comprehension passages tested in
WASSCE? The analysis of the passages was carried out
focusing on 10 different content sub-categories (see Table 1).
These are type, source and origin of comprehension passages;
literal, inferential, figures of speech, grammatical structures
and their functions, idiomatic expression, critical or evaluative,
and test of vocabulary questions. The first three sub-categories
were used to describe the attributes of the passages that may
influence the students’ ability to comprehend the passages
while the remaining seven sub-categories are the aspects
being tested in comprehension passages in WASSCE.
The results show that seven different types of comprehension
passages could be identified: fiction, science, art, socio-
economic, political, historical and educational. The dominant
ones were fiction which accounted for 39.6% of the passages,
socio-economic (33.35%) and science (8.35%). Teachers of
English language therefore ought to give their students
opportunities to practise with the seven different types of
passages while preparing for WASSCE. The relative
importance of science-oriented passages shows that even an
art student is expected to learn some science concepts in the
course of their study. The science passages usually addressed
educative and topical issues such as ozone layer depletion.
The sources of the comprehension passages show that 87.5%
of the passages were ‘newly composed’. The remaining
passages were ‘excerpts’. This implies that students should
not expect passages they have come across before in the
examination.
The results show that 62.5% of the passages had local origin
while those of foreign origin were 8.35%. The reason for this
could be that the examiners are following the theory proposed
by researchers that students comprehend better when they
have the background knowledge that relates to the story
(Garth-McCullough 2008; Ginsborg 2014). The students
should hence be taught with passages addressing themes
mostly from Nigeria or Africa.
The results of this study further show that the frequency of
occurrence of literal questions is 97.9%. This implies that
English language examiners asked more literal questions.
Literal understanding is the first and most basic level of
comprehension in reading. Thus, mastering this component
of reading development means being able to understand
literally what the author said. Hence, teachers of English
language should ensure that the development of literal
comprehension reading starts from lower classes (primary
schools) and develop this skill all through the students’
secondary education. A student who can understand
information that is explicitly stated in a text over time will
improve and graduate to making inferences and critically
evaluate text. It is a prerequisite for higher-level reading and
thinking according to Linde and Fredickson (2020).
The frequency of occurrence of inferential questions was 52.1%.
This implies that inferential questions are significant on average.
Hence, English language teachers need to teach students how
to deduce meanings that are not directly stated in the passage.
Teachers should draw students’ attention to questions like this
each time comprehension passages are given in class. This will
help them to know the difference between inferential and literal
questions. The teacher can also ensure that students are
properly drilled. They can give students assignments on
reading text that is a little taxing but interesting just to build the
students’ skill in grammar, vocabulary, idiomatic expressions,
among others. Teachers can also encourage their students to
read widely because that will expose them to cultures that they
may not be familiar with but might have heard about in books.
The frequency of occurrence of figures of speech was 54.2%.
This implies that there was a 54.2% chance that figures of
speech questions will occur in the examination. The English
language teachers, therefore, need to teach their students the
different types of figures of speech in English so that students
can easily identify them at any time they come across them in
a comprehension passage or use them appropriately even in
their own communication when writing or speaking. Reading
extensively should be encouraged among students to build
their knowledge in English language culture, vocabularies,
figurative and idiomatic expressions.
Grammatical structure and function questions had a
frequency occurrence of 93.75%, thus implying that they are
inevitable in WASSCE. Therefore, teachers should ensure
that students are taught properly in class how to address
them in comprehension passages. This is a question that has
been consistently asked in WASSCE over the years.
The idiomatic expression questions had a frequency
occurrence of 20.85%. This result implies that idiomatic
expression questions are seldom asked. This should guide
teachers in the allocation of their time to this aspect of English
language comprehension. The examiners of WASSCE were
not expecting the students to have much mastery of idiomatic
expressions. The reason for this may be that it was considered
to be difficult to understand for students that are not native
TABLE 5: Relave importance of types of quesons.
Type of queson Frequency of
occurrence
%Number of mes quesons occur in a year
Mean Median Mode Standard
deviaon
Literal meaning 47 97.9 4 4 3 1.27
Inferenal 25 52.1 2 2 1 0.58
Figures of speech 26 54.2 1 1 1 0
Grammacal
structure
45 93.8 1 1 1 0
Idiomac
expression
10 20.9 1 1 1 0
Crical or
evaluave
2 4.2 1 1 1 0
Vocabulary 47 97.9 1 1 1 0

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speakers of the English language since it is influenced by the
culture and it allows a writer to draw on a rich cultural
tradition that is not common to second language learners.
Teachers must lay emphasis on this aspect because these
students need to have all-round development that will enhance
not only comprehension but help them improve academically.
With a frequency occurrence of 97.9%, vocabulary test
questions were very important, hence students and teachers
of English language should devote adequate time to
vocabulary while covering the curriculum. Furthermore,
vocabulary questions attract 1 mark for each word tested and
could attract up to 10 or 12 marks out of the 40 marks
allocated to comprehension passages in WASSCE. The
teacher can encourage healthy competition on reading with a
prize to compensate whoever reads up to two or three books
in a week. The school library should be properly equipped
with recent and relevant books.
Critical or evaluative questions had a frequency of occurrence
of just 4.2%. This shows that these questions are rarely asked.
This may be because WASSCE examiners may believe critical
or evaluative questions are above the standards required
from the students. Irrespective of this, critical evaluation
skill is required by the students, especially in tertiary
institutions. It has been confirmed by many researchers that
students who are not good at comprehension of texts cannot
do well academically (Jude & Ajayi 2012; Rutzler 2020). At
the tertiary level of education, students move into advanced
learning. Students who do not have a good foundation in
comprehension may not gain admission into such
institutions. If by chance they find themselves there, they
may not be able to cope. At this level, students will be
exposed to more complicated materials. Hence, the teachers
should devote adequate time to teaching this aspect even if
WASSCE does not emphasise it. The examiners, curriculum
planners, Ministry of Education and all stakeholders should
take into cognisance the importance of critical or evaluative
comprehension skill and ensure students are adequately
trained on how to answer such questions in the examination.
Conclusion
This study is a content analysis of aspects and levels of reading
comprehension passages tested in WASSCE. The study was
based on the analysis of secondary time series data of WASSCE
Paper I Section B of English Language questions covering 24
years. The questions were selected to ensure an adequate trend
was available. In all, 48 passages were covered by the study.
This study identified the key aspects of WASSCE English
language comprehension questions being tested by classifying
them by question attributes which are: literal, grammatical
structure, vocabulary, inferential and figures of speech. Others
are idiomatic expression and critical or evaluative questions
(Table 1). The result revealed that more emphasis was laid on
literal questions while WASSCE seems not to lay emphasis on
critical or evaluative questions and this is considered to be of
concern because this skill is highly required by students in
higher institutions and people in all walks of life. The other
category is the passage attributes which are: type, source and
origin (Table 1). It was revealed that most of the types of
comprehension passages being presented in WASSCE were
newly composed and they related to the students’ local
environment. This is quite encouraging because it will help the
students to some extent to relate with the passages and this
will help in providing background information that can help
in comprehension. The main objective of this study was
directed at analysing the content of the English language
comprehension questions in the WASSCE to identify the
intensities of testing different aspects of comprehension
to raise teachers’ awareness on the different levels of
comprehension. This will have implications on teaching and
will help the students become better comprehenders and
readers. This will encourage teachers to lay emphasis on these
aspects when they teach reading strategies to their students.
This objective was met and it revealed that literal questions
occurred frequently and that critical or evaluative questions
were rarely asked. This was eye-opening and a solution for
change in the area that concerns critical or evaluative questions
that were rarely asked was proffered to examiners, teachers,
curriculum planners and all stakeholders.
Recommendaons
In line with the findings and conclusion of this study, the
following recommendations are made: each aspect of the
comprehension passages identified by the study should be
covered by English language teachers when preparing their
students for English language examination and the teachers
should allocate more time to teaching the aspects with high
relative importance over time. Teachers should employ
methods of teaching that will cater for inferential questions in
comprehension passages. The critical or evaluative skill
questions that are rarely asked in WASSCE should be given
more attention by teachers whether it is tested or not because
it is a requirement for the current demands of literacy in the
21st century. Students who are just leaving secondary school
will require the critical or evaluative skill because it is essential
in attaining higher education and having the skill can earn an
individual a decent job, which in return will improve their
living standard and contribution to society at large.
In the light of the pedagogic importance of critical or
evaluative questions, it is recommended that examiners and
teachers should lay emphasis on questions that demand
higher-order reasoning to prepare students for the
contemporary demands of literacy. The curriculum and the
WASSCE should be amended to encourage critical or
evaluative thinking among secondary school students since
it is an important part of all literacy and language.
Acknowledgements
I sincerely appreciate my supervisor Prof. G.O. Oyinloye,
Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, who encouraged me to
embark on this research, Prof. Titi Fola-Adebayo, Federal
University of Technology, Akure, who is my mentor in
academics and J.U. Anyaele, who compiled the senior
secondary school certificate past questions and answers for

Page 10 of 10 Original Research
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SSCE, GCE and NECO English language theory/objectives
with oral English, 1988–2017.
Compeng interests
The author hereby declares that no competing interests exist.
Author’s contribuons
F.M.O. is the sole author of this research article.
Ethical consideraons
This article followed all ethical standards for research
without direct contact with human or animal subjects.
Funding informaon
This research received no specific grant from any funding
agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Data availability
The author confirms that the data supporting the findings of
this study are available within the article.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of
the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or
position of any affiliated agency of the author.
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