Abstract

This study investigated the reading ability and syntactic ability of public senior secondary school students in Abeokuta metropolis Ogun state Nigeria. The study adopted the survey research design. Using a multi-stage sampling procedure, five public Senior Secondary Schools were randomly selected from Abeokutametropolis, and 50 SS II students were randomly selected from each school, yielding a total sample of 250 students. Two instruments were used for data collection:Reading Ability Test (r=0.) and Syntactic Ability Test (r=0.). Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics of frequency counts, percentages, mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions, while the independent samples t-test was used to test the null hypotheses. The findings revealed that the level of reading ability of public Senior Secondary School students in Abeokuta Metropolis was high (weighted mean = 3.42; threshold = 2.50), while the level of syntactic ability was low (weighted mean = 13.04; threshold = 15.00). The study further revealed a significant difference in the reading ability of male and female students (t = 1.992; df = 248; p = .047), with male students recording a higher mean score (m = 3.58) than their female (3.29) counterparts. Similarly, a significant difference was found in the syntactic ability of male and female students (t = 2.564; df = 248), with male students ( m = 13.75) again recording a higher mean score than their female (12.44) counterparts. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that English language teachers should emphasize syntax in reading instruction and that parents, school authorities and government agencies should provide reading materials, libraries and language laboratories to enhance students’literacy skills in Abeokuta metropolis.