Reading Anxiety as a Predictor of Qur'anic Tahsin Ability among Junior High School Students in Ponorogo

Abstract

This study examined reading anxiety as a predictor of Qur'anic tahsin ability among junior high school students in Ponorogo. The problem addressed was whether fear, nervousness, and tension during oral Qur'anic reading are associated with lower accuracy in tahsin performance. A quantitative cross-sectional approach using simple linear regression was employed; therefore, the findings are interpreted as predictive and associative rather than causal. The sample consisted of 244 students from two public junior secondary schools in Ponorogo. Reading anxiety was measured using a 20-item Likert-scale questionnaire, while Qur'anic tahsin ability was assessed through a standardized oral reading test using a tahsin rubric. The reading anxiety instrument showed excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's Alpha = 0.970), corrected item-total correlations ranging from 0.745 to 0.798, and a dominant factor structure, as supported by KMO = 0.983 and Bartlett's test (p < 0.001). Simple regression showed that reading anxiety negatively predicted Qur'anic tahsin ability (B = -0.259, t = -17.645, p < 0.001, R² = 0.563). Bootstrapping with 5,000 resamples confirmed the negative coefficient, with a 95% CI of [-0.307, -0.216]. Spearman correlation also showed a strong negative monotonic association, rho = -0.909, p < 0.001. These findings indicate that emotionally safe correction and supportive oral reading practice should accompany tajwid accuracy in tahsin learning.