PIRLS-IEA Reading Literacy Framework: Comparative Analysis of the 1991 IEA Reading Study and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study

In 1991, the United States participated in the International Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) Reading Literacy Study that assessed the reading literacy of fourth-grade students in 32 countries. When a new study of fourth-grade reading literacy was being planned for 2001, the IEA decided to create a new assessment: Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS). This Working Paper compares the frameworks, texts, and items of these two international studies.

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