Improving the Students' Reading Comprehension Using Tiered Tasks Strategy

This research aimed to explain the students' achievement in literal reading comprehension using Tiered Tasks Strategy, as well as to explain the students' achievement in interpretative reading comprehension using Tiered Tasks Strategy. This research used Classroom Action Research and applied to cycles in the application, they are cycle 1 and 2 with 4 meetings in every cycle. The improvement of students' ability to write narrative text using Tiered Tasks Strategy had an effective effect. The researcher found that before the application of tiered tasks strategy the students' score is 52.53(fair) but after using the method the students' score in cycle I is 62.14 and in the cycle, II become 77.18. So, the improvement of the students' score of d-test to cycle I is 18.93% whereas the development of the students' ability of d-test to cycle II is 47.80% and the improvement from cycle I to cycle II is 24.22%.

Reading comprehension as a part of receptive skill is given the first priority in the language curriculum. Reading comprehension is important because it can help the student's information about the general knowledge or the subject of school that is the printed information is very dominant nowadays. Through reading people can improve their own knowledge, which are needed to ensure the continuing personal growth and adapt the change in the world, (Harvey, 1990) argues that the purpose of reading in language is to inform our self about something we are interested in, or challenge our knowledge on certain matters, in other word, to extend experience of the world in which we life.
The main goal in teaching and learning English reading process is to comprehend the reading materials, but the fact shows that the majority of the students are not competent English well. As (Halim,1987) states that the most students are not frustrated to uncounted problem in comprehending English text.
They are frustration level although they have been learning English for many years.
By looking this fact, lecture or teachers must give variation of teaching strategy in reading class, in the order to motivate students to comprehend the reading text. In this case, the writer is going to discuss one variation in teaching strategy namely tiered task, these strategy are an excellent learning strategy, because it requires learners to process the information deeply and to deal with two types of encoding of the materials (Clark and Lochart, 1972 in nation, 988). Harmer (1991: 29-33) defines information transfer activity as an activity reproduction of information either into a fully linguistics form a diagrammatic or semi diagrammatic form or vice versa. Using linguistic form in learning reading comprehension, the students are providing with a reading text. These are read the text to get the main idea or information into diagram, table of other own linguistic representation. The strategy of English teaching is necessary to develop especially in improving reading. Because the technique of teaching influences the student's success. So, the teacher of English must select suitable method, strategy and material to teach. There are many techniques or strategy in reading found at high school in comprehension question answering exercise, therefore can improve the teaching the teaching of reading, in other that students' activity involves in reading class particularly in the given task.
Tiered tasks are hypothesizing as one way to improve student's activity in reading class. Harmer (1991) design three kinds of reading for tiered tasks. Which are jumble task, student question, and pooling information?
Based on the information above, the writer will conduct are research to find out whether the tiered tasks in effective to improve the reading comprehension achievement of first year students.
The results of the research are expected to be useful information and reference for the English teachers of how to teach reading for the best improvement.
It also suggests the learners of English of how to learn English reading by using Tiered Tasks Strategy. This strategy becomes information which is very important to apply in the classroom.
The scope of the research will the written focus to improve the students' achievement in literal reading comprehension (main idea and detail information) and the students' achievement in interpretative comprehension (drawing conclusion and prediction) and the research will limit the use of Tiered Tasks Strategy to improve reading comprehension at the first year students of Senior High School 1 Barru, academic year 2012/2013.

TIERED TASKS STRATEGY
Tiered activities are planning strategy for a mixed ability classroom. Tiered instruction is a means of teaching one concept and meeting the different learning needs in a group. Tasks and/or recourses vary according to learning profile, readiness and interest. The use of tiered assignments maximizes the likelihood that each student comes away with key skill and understanding and that each student is appropriately challenged.
Tiered tasks are neither too simple so that is leads to boredom nor too difficult so that it result in frustration. As Tomlison cautions," only when students work at appropriate challenge levels do they develop the essential habits of persistence, curiosity, and willingness to take intellectual risks" (2001:5) Tiered instruction is a means of teaching one concept and meeting the different learning needs in a group. For Best Practices tiered instruction is fundamental because:  Each student is appropriately challenged.
 As opposed to focusing on learning differences the focus is on the concept.  It maximizes learning.
Ideally, tiered learning tasks engage students slightly beyond what they find easy or comfortable in order to provide genuine challenge and to promote their continued learning (Sylwester, 2003;Vygotsky, 1986).
Optimally, a tiered task is neither too simple so that it leads to boredom nor too difficult so that it results in frustration. As Tomlinson cautions, "Only when students work at appropriate challenge levels do they develop the essential habits of persistence, curiosity, and willingness to take intellectual risks" (2001, 5).
If we look at about tiered task the other people have written about tasks, we can find that term have been finished in variety of ways. In Nunan (1991) states that a task is piece of work undertaken for one self or for others, freely or for some rewards. Then we can give some example of a task including painting a fence, dressing. In order words, tasks is the hundred and one think people do in every life, at flay and in between task usually requires the teacher to specify what will be regarded as successful completion the task. The use of variety of task in language teaching is said to make language more communication.
From those explanation about tiered and tasks and task now we can conclude that tiered tasks is grouping students for instruction based on their prior background knowledge in a given subject area. In this study, students were either in a control secondary science classroom or a classroom in which instruction was tiered. The tiered introduction was designed to match to high, middle, or low levels of background knowledge on astronomy and Newtonian physic. In tiered tasks, the interaction is not only between the students and teacher, but more then it.
Besides, the role of the teacher only as the tool to explain the give materials, the purpose is to make the students involves activity in doing the tasks given by the teacher, whether or not the students sure good in English subject, particular in reading material (harmer, 1991:1).

Tiered Teaching
Typically, researchers, teachers and students are identified as the tiers used in analyzing teaching methods, although other tiers can be used. Tiers are implemented as a way to identify and assess learning at multiple levels, which can reciprocally inform the educational process at the student, teacher, and higher levels.
a) Tier 1 is often identified as Researchers, which focuses on teacher development and student learning as an interactive and complete process.
b) Tier 2, or the teacher tier, is used to study student learning and teacher facilitation. This includes the processes of defining goals, planning, teaching, assessing, revising, re-teaching, re-assessing and reflecting.
Teachers use observations, reflections and other information as a way to modify teaching as needed.
c) Tier 3 focuses on students and their ability to self-regulate as individual learners and as members of a small or large group within the classroom.
When the three tiers work together by advising, assessing and regulating educational practices, students can be assured of learning from "more knowledgeable others" who are dynamic and continually learning.

Implementation Tiered Tasks
Implementing the tiered teaching technique requires a team of interested professionals who are committed to improving classroom practices, willing to invest time and expertise in modifying techniques and methods and open to change and transformation A team requires at least one researcher or observer, one teacher and one student. Teachers begin by assessing student understanding, and then creating lessons based on the student's starting point. The researcher observes how the lesson is executed, how the student(s) responds, and how the teacher responds and redirects teaching accordingly.
Teacher and observer meet, discuss findings of a particular lesson, and plan for adjusted lessons based on students responds. The process continues as a method of observing, reflecting, dialoguing, planning, reviewing, reassessing and representing material to students.

READING CONCEPTS
Reading is one of most important skills in learning language besides listening, speaking, and writing. It has the fundamental goal to know enough the concept and the language, it operational means an activity that the students perform too again information or massage from the written material the read. Therefore, in reading activity students have intention to obtain knowledge from their listening.
Hornby (1994: 1043) defines as an a person who reads. Carillo (1976:1) concludes that educators and psychologist differ as to what should be include in the definition of reading in three categories they are: a. Reading is purely a mechanical process in reading skill by the following: 1). A readers' accuracy in recognizing words and attacking words that are known.
2). The amount of print recognized at each fixation of the each.
3). The rate of recognizing of words and phrases ; and 4). Rhythmic progress along the line of print an easy return sweep to the next line.
b. Reading is mechanical process plus the acquisition of meaning advocates of this broader view hold that in addition to acquisition efficiency in the mechanical aspect given above; the reader must fuse the meaning represented by the printed words into a chain of related ideas.
c. Reading is combination of mechanics, understanding, retention, and use. In this broadest of the three views, the reader should be able notto perform the mechanics and comprehend and the meaning of the words , but to critically evaluate the ideas expressed and apply then to his or her situation.
According to Tampubolon in Simatumpang (2012) reading is the physical and mental activity to discover the meaning of the text. Reading said physical activity as part of the body especially the eyes do. Said mental activity, because it part of the mind in particular the perception and memory involved. Jazir (1971: 180-181) stated that reading is a conscious act committed in the process of observing, understanding, and thinking about the content of reading.
According to Hodgson in Tarigan (1987: 7-8) give the restriction that reading is process that is carried and used by readers to get the message about to be delivered by the author through the medium of words/ written language. Finochiaro and Bonomo (Tarigan 1988) briefly define that reading is bringing meaning to and getting meaning from printed or written material.
Based on some definition above, the writer concludes that reading is an activity of a person is aware of the physical and mental involved in perceiving, understanding, and get message delivered by the author through the medium of words, contained in oral or written language.
-Planning focused the lesson planning and prepared the material of reading before enter the class.
-Action focused the implementation of lesson planning in teaching and learning process in the classroom.
-Observation focused the observation teaching and learning process in the classroom to know effective the process of teaching and learning in the class.
-Reflection focused the result of teaching and learning process achieve.

RESEARCH METHOD
This research followed the principal working of Classroom Action Research (CAR) that contains of four stages they were: planning, implementation of action, observation, and reflection. This research was held around two cycles: they were the first cycle and the second cycle. Each cycle was the series of activities which has close relation. Where, the relations of the second cycle were continuation and repairing from the first cycle.
The research was done at Senior High School 1 Barru for English subject.
As subject in this research was class X.5 Senior High School 1 Barru for 2012-2013 academic years. The class consisted of 32 students, 15 men and 17 women.

Variables
The following were the variables of research a. Tiered tasks strategy of the independent variable, was the important process to which allows the students to share ideas/opinion to improve the reading skills.
b. The dependent variables of the research consist of students' literal comprehension and interpretative comprehension. .

Indicators
-The indicators of the students' literal comprehension were main ideas and context (detail information).
-The indicator of the students' interpretative comprehension were drawing conclusion and prediction of contents are taken from the explicit and implicit information.
Definition operational of them a. The main idea was the central thought of a passage and it helped readers to remember important information from the text.
b. Detail information was read a test of reading and found information details that deal of test.
c. Conclusion was drawn together factual evidences into a statement about the nature of phenomenon.
d. Prediction was a statement about future behavior or action.

RESEARCH PROCEDURES
In this Classroom Action Research (CAR), the observer used the CAR principle to collect the data. The research was divided into two cycles with each cycle consisted of four phases In this research, procedure was divided into two cycles:

Cycle I
The first cycle in this classroom action research consisted of planning, action, observation and reflection as follows:

Action
In this activity was scenario-learning process, it based on the tiered tasks in learning English especially in reading comprehension using tiered tasks strategy. After give pre-action, the students were give English materials by using tiered tasks strategy for five time of meeting. Each meeting spends 90 minutes. These were the activities: a. The teacher selected appropriate text for students. d. The teacher asked the students' in groups to read the passage or story, analyzed the text to identify the major concepts e. The teacher asked the students to decide which concepts were most important.
f. The teacher asked the students to write statements on major concepts. The students wrote short, declarative statement about major concepts. There could be as few as 3-5 statements or up to 5 in each group.
g. The teacher displayed the guide either on blackboard or distribute in individual worksheets.
h. The teacher asked a group to discuss the major concept.
i. The teacher asked to students read the text evaluation the statements from the tiered tasks.
j. Then the students were given the text.
k. The students answered the questions' text.
l. The teacher given evaluation about the material for checking about the comprehension by the students. m. Closed

Observation
a. students' participation and responds during and learning process.
b. student's competence in reading text

Reflection
After finished the process the teacher rechecked the result of the evaluation and observation whether the teaching and learning process of reading using tiered tasks was good to implementation in teaching and learning process at SMA Negeri 1 Barru.

Cycle II
In this cycle conducted four times meeting included one time for test in cycle the main activities were:

Planning
The way that had been done: a e. The teacher asked a group to discuss the major concept and one person from each group read their task in the classroom and another group gave question.
f. And then the teacher repeated evaluation for each students to checking about their comprehension g. Closed

Observation
a. students' participation and response during and learning process. b. student's competence in reading text

Reflection
According to the achievement result of the observation was been collected and analyzed. From the result of the research, the researcher was been make conclusion that anticipation guide to improve the students reading comprehension.

RESEARCH INSTRUMENT
In this research, the researchers used reading test that consists of five items for each reading text. The researches gave the test in each cycle to find out the improvement of the students' reading comprehension.
1. Observation: to found out the students' participation during the teaching and learning process.
2. Note taking: to found out the students' strong, weakness, active, motivation, and interest.
3. Test: to found out the students' improvement reading comprehension by using tiered tasks strategy in teaching in the classroom.
The data from cycle I and cycle II was analyzed the following steps: 1. To score the students' answer of test in reading comprehension , the researchers was use formula  Excellent 9.6-10 the answer is grammatical correct and conclusion and prediction is true Very good 8.6-9.5 some grammatical errors but the conclusion and prediction is true Good 7.6-8.5 many grammatical errors and the conclusion and prediction reading is true Average 6.6-7.5 many grammatical errors and the conclusion and prediction is false (sudijono in rahma, 2005: 43) 2. To analyzed the students' participation in research toward the material and activities in teaching and learning process by checklist. The students' active participation described followed : 3. To find out the mean score of students' reading comprehension using tiered tasks by using the following formula:

FINDINGS
This chapter presents the findings and discussion of the research. The findings consist of the data obtained through achievement test to see the student's achievement after teaching the materials of reading comprehension using tiered task strategy and data collected trough observation and evaluation to see the student's improvement in learning reading comprehension after given treatment in the first and second cycle of the research. The result of the findings indicate that teaching reading comprehension using tiered tasks can improve the student's achievement in literal comprehension and also can improve the students' achievement in interpretive comprehension. Further interpretations of the data analysis are given below:

Comprehension
The improvement of the students' literal in reading comprehension, which has focused on main idea and detail information as indicator of literal reading comprehension in X.5 class of SMA Negeri 1 Barru as result of the students' assessment of cycle 1 and cycle II, is describe as follows: The table above shows 2 indicators in the students' literal comprehension The first, the mean score of students' literal comprehension before using Tiered

Comprehension
The improvement of the students' interpretative in reading comprehension, which has focused on conclusion and prediction as indicator of interpretative reading comprehension in X.5 class of SMA Nwegeri 1 Barru as result of the students' assessment of cycle 1 and cycle II, is describe as follows:  The table above shows 2 variables in the students' Reading comprehension viewed from literal and interpretative. The mean score of the students' reading comprehension viewed from mean score reading comprehension before using the Tiered Tasks Strategy (Diagnostic Test) is 51.10. It is classified as a fair category, but after using the Tiered Tasks Strategy in cycle I, the mean score becomes 62.04.
It is greater than diagnostic test (62.04>51.10), it is classified as a fairly good category. Although, there is an improvement of the students' reading comprehension viewed from D-test to Cycle I in reading comprehension (21.48%). But, after doing action again in cycle II, the students' mean score becomes 76.12.
It is greater than Cycle I and D-test (76.12>62.04>51.10) and it is classified as a good category. It means that there is an improvement of students' reading comprehension viewed from reading comprehension from cycle I to cycle II (22.69%) and from D-test to cycle II (49.56%).

Reading Comprehension
The implementation of tiered tasks strategy in improving the students' reading comprehension has been done in X5 class of SMA Negeri 1 Barru. It follows the principle working of classroom action research that has been conducted on two cycles, each cycle consist of four meetings. Before implementing this strategy, researches observes many aspects are observed to assess the implementation of tiered tasks strategy, such as: students' attitude, students' model and students' understanding and then diagnostic test is given to the students to measure their students' ability to comprehend literal and interpretative that focused on main idea and detail information indicators of literal reading comprehension, conclusion and prediction as interpretative reading comprehension. After that the researches explains about the advantage of the method for the students and applied tiered tasks strategy in teaching and learning process.
In every meeting, the teacher selects a narrative text, and makes a group and each group there are 5-6 students, distributes them and asks to read the passage.
After they have read, the students must decide which major concepts in important.
Next the teacher asks to write down short declarative statements about major concepts 1-3 sentences. And, the teacher distributed or displays the tasks. After that the students discuss the main the mayor concepts ', main idea, and detail information about the text. And the teacher evaluates the statements from the worksheet by the tasks. And the last the students answer the questions' text.
Students' motivation in teaching and learning process can be influenced by the strategy and media that the teacher used. In implementation tiered tasks and media that the teacher used? In implementation tiered tasks strategy the students can forecast or predict the major concepts, the students are asked to identify major concepts, then decide the major concepts, next students are asked to write down the declarative statement about major concepts and discuss it, while before implementation this method there is a significant improvement of their achievement in reading comprehension, that the students can comprehend information of the text.
In teaching and learning process with implementation of tiered tasks strategy, the students are interested to join in learning process .It can be seen by the students' activeness during teaching learning process. They are active asking about the material during learning process and the students' achievement in reading comprehension is improved after implementation tiered tasks strategy. The responses of the students about this strategy considering explanation above, it's concluded that the used of tiered tasks strategy in learning especially in reading comprehension is useful. They are not feel bored in learning process through this strategy and excited in answering the questions. They admit this strategy is enjoyable because they can share the opinion with each other.
In the first meeting students' participation is very low, but in the cycle II the students' participation classified into good. The second, students' are modeling in teaching and learning process. In this case, researcher observes students' behavior during learning and teaching process. In the first meeting students' behavior is very low but in the cycle II the students' behavior classified into good, this aspect almost same with the students' attitude aspect. And, the third aspect is students' understanding; this aspect the researcher observed the students' understanding in teaching and learning process. In the first cycle students' understanding is fair but after doing cycle II the students' understanding is good.

DISCUSSION
In this part, the researcher would like to discuss the result of findings. The discussion aimed at describing the students' reading comprehension to read a narrative text viewed from literal comprehension and interpretative comprehension by using tiered tasks strategy.

The Improvement Of Literal In Reading Comprehension Using Tiered Tasks Strategy
In the analysis of the students' ability the researcher find that the mean score of students in writing narrative text through Crawford Slip Method is develop. The students' score in d-test was 51.10 (fair), in the cycle I the students' mean score is 62.o4 (fairly good) and in the cycle II the students' mean score was 76.12 (good). The researches teacher about narrative text in cycle I using tiered tasks strategy in the class. The researchers found that the students still difficult to answer the questions. Their detail information and main idea in reading comprehension fair the students' difficult to find the detail information and main idea. The difficulty of the students in Reading comprehension have been analyzed, so the researches had to think the solution of the problem. So, the researches decided to do the cycle II by doing revision in the lesson plan which prepared in revision planning of cycle II.
The improvement of students' ability to write narrative text using tiered tasks strategy had effective effect. The researcher find that before the application of tiered tasks strategy the students' score is 52.53(fair) but after using the method the students' score in cycle I is 62.14 and in the cycle II become 77.18. So, the improvement of the students' score of d-test to cycle I is 18.93% whereas the development of the students' ability of d-test to cycle II is 47.80% and the improvement from cycle I to cycle II is 24.22% During the teaching and learning process in cycle I, the researcher found that the students are difficult to organize a good reading comprehension. There is no relevance between the stories they make with the structure of narrative text itself.
To solve this problem the researcher had done cycle II and revises the previous lesson plan. In this case, the researcher give peer correction activity so the students can read a text and found main idea and detail information. The researcher also gives deep explanation about the structure of a narrative text so the students answer the question and found main idea and detail information. From the explanation above the researcher analyzed that the tiered tasks can develop the students' ability to read narrative text in term of literal comprehension, where the students' mean score in cycle I and cycle II is higher than d-test.
The improvement of students' ability to read a narrative text using tiered tasks strategy had effective effect. In the analysis of students' interpretative the researcher found that before the use of tiered tasks strategy the students' score is 49.68 (poor). After using tiered tasks strategy in cycle I the students score is 61.24 (fairly good) and in the cycle II the students' score was 75.07 (good). The improvement of the students' reading comprehension a narrative text viewed from interpretative can be seen from the mean of language use of d-test to cycle I is 24.07%, whereas the improvement of students' score d-test and cycle II is 51.12% and from cycle I to cycle II is 21.19%. During the teaching and learning process in cycle I, the researcher found interpretative especially conclusion and prediction In this case, the researcher revise the next cycle by rearranging lesson plan. The researcher give more explanation about correct the text. From the explanation above, the researcher analyze that the students' ability read a text in term of interpretative by using tiered tasks is develop, where the students' mean score in cycle I and cycle II is higher than d-test.

OBSERVATION RESULT
The result of observation of the students' activeness in teaching and learning process toward the use of tiered tasks strategy in improving the students' reading comprehension at the first year students' of SMA Negeri 1 Barru in class X.5.
Which is conducted in 2 cycles during 8 meeting is taken by the ebserver through observation sheet. The activity students' in each meeting, The percentages of the cycle I from the first meeting to the fourth meeting are 67.1%, 71.0%, 75.0% and 84.3%. Morever, the percentage of the cycle II from the first meeting to the fourth meeting are 83.59%, 84.3%, 85.9%, and 85.15%. In addition, the overage score in every cycle, in cycle I is 74.35% and in cycle II is 85.23%. From that the research concludes that is effectivef to use The Power of Two method as a method to improve the students' reading comprehension.
Presented the students' situation during teaching learning process in reading comprehension from the cycle I to cycle II from the graphic it's known that there was the changing of students' situation learning from cycle I to cycle II. The students' participation in learning reading comprehension in was low with the mean score 74.35% and than 85.23% and the improvement was 14.63%.