England rises to impressive Fourth place in international reading assessment
England rises to impressive Fourth place in international reading assessment
With the abundance of negative stories that seem to be besieging this country of late, it`s nice to be able to relate something positive for a change. England has just been ranked fourth out of 43 countries in a major international reading survey.
The Progress International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS as it is more commonly known), is an international literacy reading study, conducted every five years for 9-10 year olds. Initiated back in 2001, the twice-decade study was designed with the aim to uncover trends in the literary abilities of fourth grade students.
Under exam conditions students complete a reading assessment and questionnaire, the results of which will disclose their general reading habits, and attitudes towards literacy. In addition to assessing students, teachers and Heads will also be asked to take part in the study, in order to ascertain their opinions about their students` interests and abilities, along with how their school tackles issues to do with literacy.
England scored an impressive 558, comfortably above both the international average of 520, and the European average of 524. Out of the 43 countries who participated, England can certainly take pride in coming forth. In first place was Singapore, scoring 587, followed by Hong Kong with 573, with Russia coming in third with 567.
England`s achievements are likely to be largely attributable to a series of reforms in recent years, which have aimed to increase literacy, such as the Phonics Screening Check, along with the introduction of the English Hubs Programme. The Phonics Screening Check is a test undertaken by children in year one, typically in a one to one sitting with their teacher. The child will be asked to read 40 words, but not all will be real words, some will be pseudo words (typically 20 real, and 20 pseudo), the theory being that child won`t simply be accessing their memory while reading, but will be forced to analyse and decode the pseudo words.
The Phonics Screening Check was introduced by the Department for Education in 2012, with the aim to make sure every 6 year old child was up to the requisite level with their literacy. During its first assessment that year only 58% were up to this standard. Seven years later in 2019 this was up to a reassuring 82%.
The English Hubs Programme is a system that provides ongoing support for children, while also providing continuing profession development (CPD) for primary schools, in order to ensure they get all the help they need during their teaching of early reading. The programme places particular focus on systematic synthetic phonics, along with reading for pleasure.
This most recent study was conducted in 2021, assessing nearly 60,000 students during the pandemic. England`s commendable ranking is an improvement upon the previous 2016 assessment, which saw them coming joint 8th. The 2021 study was slightly unusual in that 14 of the 43 countries tested were forced, because of covid-19 restrictions, to delay their testings until the beginning of the next academic year. This meant these children were a year older than their counterparts, and their results were not included in the final results.
The Scottish government decided to no longer take part in the assessments in 2008, citing expenses unjustified by the limited data the study provides. Girls generally rank higher than boys, and this assessment was no exception: girls scored an average of 562, compared to 553 scored by boys.
The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak praised the high result of England`s students, saying:
`Driving up literacy rates is central to our plan to grow the economy, one of my 5 key priorities, so it`s great to see England move up to fourth in the international rankings for reading.`
`These results also show a welcome narrowing in the attainment gap between boys and girls and the highest and lowest performing pupils.`
`This shows that our approach is working. Thanks to our brilliant teachers, our tireless pursuit of standards, the pioneering English Hubs programme and the introduction of the Phonics Screening Check - more children are reading confidently and reaching their potential.`
`While there is always more progress to be made, pupils and teachers across the country should be incredibly proud of this achievement today.`
| Singapore | 587 |
| Hong Kong SAR | 573 |
| Russian Federation | 567 |
| England | 558 |
| Finland | 549 |
| Poland | 549 |
| Chinese Taipei | 544 |
| Sweden | 544 |
| Australia | 540 |
| Bulgaria | 540 |
| Czech Republic | 540 |
| Denmark | 539 |
| Norway | 539 |
| Italy | 537 |
| Macao SAR | 536 |
| Austria | 530 |
| Slovak Republic | 529 |
| Netherlands | 527 |
| Germany | 524 |
| New Zealand | 521 |
| Spain | 521 |
| Portugal | 520 |
| Slovenia | 520 |
| Malta | 515 |
| France | 514 |
| Serbia | 514 |
| Albania | 513 |
| Cyprus | 511 |
| Belgium (Flemish) | 511 |
| Israel | 510 |
| Turkey | 496 |
| Belgium (French) | 494 |
| Montenegro | 487 |
| North Macedonia | 442 |
| Azerbaijan | 440 |
| Uzbekistan | 437 |
| Oman | 429 |
| Kosovo | 421 |
| Brazil | 419 |
| Iran | 413 |
| Jordan | 381 |
| Egypt | 378 |
| South Africa | 288 |
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