Progress in International Reading Literacy Study

PIRLS[1] provides internationally comparative data on how well children read by assessing students’ reading achievement. PIRLS collects considerable background information on how education systems provide educational opportunities to their students as well as the factors that influence how students use these opportunities. These background data include information about the following: national curriculum policies in reading; how the education system is organized to facilitate learning; students’ home environment for learning; school climate and resources; and how instruction actually occurs in classrooms. Studies of reading literacy had been conducted prior to the PIRLS study of 2001, and PIRLS is the successor to IEA studies, such as the Reading Literacy Study, that started in 1970 and continued until 1991.[4] The PIRLS study of 2001 started the trend for cyclical testing; PIRLS has a frequency of five years. By administering the test every five years, education systems are able to monitor their children's literacy achievement over time. The current cycle, PIRLS 2016, is the fourth cycle of the IEA PIRLS. Like the previous PIRLS cycles (conducted in 2001, 2006, and 2011), the study will also collect extensive information about home supports for literacy, curriculum and curriculum implementation, instructional practices, and school resources in each participating country.[1]

The PIRLS study consists of a main survey that consists of a written reading comprehension test and a background questionnaire. The PIRLS Reading Development Group (RDG) and National Research Coordinators (NRCs) from the participating countries collaborate to develop the reading assessments. The assessment focuses on three main areas of literacy: process of comprehension, purposes for reading, and reading behaviors and attitudes. The background questionnaire is used to determine the reading behaviors and attitudes. The written test is designed to address the process of comprehension and the purposes for reading. There are two purposes for reading that are examined in this study: reading for literary experience and reading to acquire and use information. Each student receives 80 minutes to complete two passages and then time to complete the survey. There are a total of 8 passage. Four passages are for each purpose of reading. "With eight reading passages in total, but just two to be given to any one student, passages and their accompanying items were assigned to student test booklets according to a matrix sampling plan. The eight passages were distributed across 10 booklets, two per booklet, so that passages were paired together in a booklet in as many different ways as possible."[2] The PIRLS target population is the grade that represents four years of schooling, counting from the first year of ISCED Level 1, which corresponds to the fourth grade in most countries. To better match the assessment to the achievement level of students, countries have the option of administering PIRLS or PIRLS Literacy at the fifth or sixth grade.

Given to:

• Home/Parents—This questionnaire includes questions about "students’ early reading experiences, child-parent literacy interactions, parents’ reading habits and attitudes, home-school connections, and demographic and socioeconomic indicators."
• Students—This questionnaire includes questions about "instructional experiences, self-perception and attitudes towards reading, out-of-school reading habits, computer use, home literacy resources, and basic demographic information."
• Teachers—This questionnaire includes questions about "characteristics of the class tested, instructional activities for teaching reading, classroom resources, assessment practices, and about their education, training, and opportunities for professional development."
• Schools—This questionnaire includes questions about "enrollment and school characteristics, school organization for reading instruction, school staffing and resources, home-school connections, and the school environment."[2]

• IEA with offices in Amsterdam and Hamburg
• International Study Center (ISC) at Boston College
• Statistics Canada
• Educational Testing Services in Princeton, NJ
• National Foundation for Educational Research in England and Wales (NFER) in the United Kingdom
• Reading Development Group (RDG)

PIRLS 2016[1] is the fourth assessment in the current trend series, following PIRLS 2001, 2006, and 2011. Participating countries include: Argentina (Buenos Aires), Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belgium (Flemish), Belgium (French), Botswana, Bulgaria, Canada (with Ontario and Quebec as benchmarking systems), Chile, Taiwan, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, England, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Hong Kong SAR, Hungary, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lithuania, Malta, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain (with Andalusia as a benchmarking system), Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates (with Abu Dhabi and Dubai as benchmarking systems), and United States. All of the countries, institutions, and agencies involved in successive PIRLS assessments have worked collaboratively in building the most comprehensive and innovative measure of reading comprehension possible, beginning in 2001 and improving with each cycle since then. PIRLS is directed by the TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center at Boston College.[12]

PIRLS 2021[13] will be the fifth assessment, marking 20 years of trends. Country enrollment opened in 2017.

• http://www.iea.nl/pirls-progress-international-reading-literacy-study
• http://www.pirls.org/
• http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pirls/
• http://timss.bc.edu/pirls2001.html
• http://www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/other-publications/downloadable-reports/reading-all-over-the-world-progress-in-international-reading-literacy-study.cfm
• http://timssandpirls.bc.edu/
• http://pirls2016.org/pirls/summary/ PIRLS Summary
• U.S. PIRLS and ePIRLS 2016 Technical Report and User’s Guide, JULY 2019

• "Where the world's fourth-graders read at the most advanced level, December 2017".
• "British Educational Research Journal; Measuring Standards in Primary English: The Validity of Pirls: A Response to Mary Hilton; Chris Whetton, Liz Twist and Marian Sainsbury; 2007". JSTOR 30032803. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
• "The limits of educational data; David Buckingham".