PIRLS 2016 International Results in Reading

Abstract

Fifty countries from around the world participated in the PIRLS 2016 international assessment of reading comprehension at the fourth grade, and in every country there was a wide range of reading achievement from basic skills to advanced comprehension. The fourth grade students in the Russian Federation and Singapore had the highest reading achievement on average. These two countries also had more than one-fourth of their students reaching the PIRLS Advanced International Benchmark. Students reaching this level interpreted, integrated, and evaluated story plots and information in relatively complex texts. Hong Kong SAR, Ireland, Finland, Poland, and Northern Ireland also performed very well, with approximately one-fi fth of their students reaching the Advanced Benchmark. In terms of basic reading literacy, it is noteworthy that in more than half of the PIRLS 2016 countries almost all of the students (more than 95 percent) demonstrated fundamental reading skills. These students could locate and reproduce ideas and information from text and make straightforward inferences. There are internationally more good readers than there were 15 years ago. The trends over time since the inception of PIRLS in 2001 show more increases than decreases in achievement. Eleven countries improved over the long term (2001 to 2016) and only 2 declined; 18 improved over the short term (2011 to 2016), compared to 10 declining. Girls had higher average achievement than boys in 48 of the 50 PIRLS 2016 countries, and boys did not have higher achievement in any countries. The gender gap in reading achievement has favored girls since 2001 and does not appear to be closing.