<![CDATA[This study examined differences in reading comprehension scores between fifth-grade students receiving instruction using Canva-designed educational comics and those receiving conventional instruction at Muhammadiyah 6 Elementary School, Medan Perjuangan. A quantitative approach with a quasi-experimental, nonequivalent control-group pretest–posttest design was employed. Participants comprised 45 students selected through total sampling, including 24 students in the experimental class and 21 in the control class. Data were collected using ten-item short-answer tests administered before and after instruction and analyzed using descriptive statistics and an independent-samples t-test. Based on the available individual score records, the mean pretest scores were 70.83 in the experimental class and 46.19 in the control class, indicating substantial baseline differences. The corresponding mean posttest scores were 75.83 and 70.95. The posttest comparison showed no statistically significant difference between the groups, t(43) = 0.963, p = .341. Interpretation is limited by baseline imbalance, the absence of statistical adjustment for initial scores, and insufficient evidence regarding the equivalence of the pretest and posttest instruments. Consequently, the available results do not establish that educational comics improve reading comprehension more than conventional instruction. Further research should employ validated, comparable assessment instruments and account for initial ability differences when evaluating educational comics in elementary reading instruction.]]>
