Implementing Flipped Classroom for Reading Comprehension in Indonesian Language Learning: An Exploratory Quasi-Experimental Study

Background: Reading comprehension requires students to actively process, interpret, and evaluate information, yet evidence on flipped classroom implementation for Indonesian language reading at the junior secondary level remains limited.Aims: This study examined changes in students’ reading comprehension, estimated between-group differences after accounting for initial ability, and described implementation conditions.Methods: An exploratory quasi-experimental nonequivalent pretest–posttest design involved 20 ninth-grade students, with 10 students in a flipped classroom group and 10 in a comparison group. Reading comprehension tests and observation sheets were analyzed using descriptive statistics, within-group tests, ANCOVA, gain-score analysis, and effect sizes.Results: Mean scores increased from 54.50 to 76.00 in the flipped classroom group and from 56.50 to 73.00 in the comparison group, corresponding to gains of 21.50 and 16.50 points. After controlling for pretest scores, the adjusted posttest mean was 4.08 points higher for the flipped classroom group, but the difference was not statistically significant, F(1, 17) = 1.40, p = .253, η_p^2 = .076. The gain-score effect size was moderate (Hedges’ g = .57), although its confidence interval crossed zero. Teacher and student implementation reached 84.72% and 80.56%, respectively.Conclusion: The findings provide preliminary, uncertain evidence favoring the flipped classroom and suggest that implementation quality, student preparation, and sufficient instructional duration warrant further investigation.