The Reading Literacy of U.S. Fourth-Grade Students in an International Context Results From the 2001 and 2006 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)

Title:	The Reading Literacy of U.S. Fourth-Grade Students in an International Context Results From the 2001 and 2006 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)
Description:	This report summarizes the performance of U.S. students on the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) assessment, comparing the scores of U.S. fourth-graders to the scores of their peers internationally in 2006 and also examining the extent to which the reading literacy of U.S. students had changed from the first administration of PIRLS in 2001. The results show that the average reading comprehension score of U.S. fourth-grade students in 2006 was higher than the average score of students in 22 of the 44 other countries and educational jurisdictions that participated in the PIRLS assessment. Ten countries and educational jurisdictions had average scores higher than the scores of U.S. students; average scores of students in the remaining 12 countries and educational jurisdictions were not significantly different from the scores of U.S. students. The performance of U.S. students on PIRLS in 2006 did not measurably differ from their performance in 2001. In addition to framing the reading literacy of U.S. students within an international context, the report shows how the reading literacy of U.S. fourth-graders varies by student background characteristics and contextual factors that may be associated with reading proficiency. Following the presentation of results, a technical appendix describes the study design, data collection, and analysis procedures that guided the administration of PIRLS 2006 in the United States and in the other participating jurisdictions.
Online Availability:	Download, view and print entire report as a pdf file. (2372KB) Download, view and print part 1 of the report as a pdf file. (1,092KB) Download, view and print part 2 of the report as a pdf file. (1,719KB) Download, view and print supplemental tables as a pdf file. (507KB) Need Help Viewing PDF files?
Cover Date:	November 2007
Web Release:	November 28, 2007
Print Release:	Currently only available online, print version forthcoming.
Publication #:	NCES 2008017 General Ordering Information
Center/Program:	NCES
Authors:	Justin Baer Stéphane Baldi Kaylin Ayotte Patricia J. Green
Type of Product:	Statistical Analysis Report
Survey/Program Areas:	International Activities Program (IAP) Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)
Keywords:	Achievement (Student) • reading Assessment Fourth-Graders • American International Comparisons • reading literacy Reading Student Assessment
Questions:	For questions about the content of this Statistical Analysis Report, please contact: Daniel McGrath.