LONDON: International reading assessment Prils, short form for Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, has ranked England at fourth position among 43 countries.
This is a significant improvement from the joint eighth position that England had got in the previous Prils study conducted in 2016.
With this, the country has jumped ahead of countries such as Finland, which are traditionally at the top in all global education indices. However, average reading achievement scores fell by 1 mark from 559 in 2016 to 558 in 2021.
Five-year test
Conducted every five years, Pirls assesses the reading skills of 9- to 10-year-olds across the globe. England and five other education systems delayed data collection for 12 months as a result of Covid, but still tested the standard 9- to 10-yearold pupil cohort. The results also showed that England ranked 13th in average reading achievement by gender, with girls still outperforming boys. However, the results also revealed that while the gender gap in England had narrowed to a 10-point gap, this was partly due to girls’ attainment falling.
And the gap between the lowestscoring and highest-scoring pupils in England also continued to narrow. Speaking to media persons after the announcement of results, Schools Minister Nick Gibb said the results were a reflection of “the reforms and commitments of primary schools” in “putting reading at the centre of everything they do” and their commitments to embracing phonics.
Did well despite Covid
He said the result that England had achieved had not been a significant change from 2016 despite all the challenges of Covid and despite the fact that most other countries in the survey had seen a fall in their score. The minister also voiced concerns over ensuring that pupils continued to sustain the gains achieved in maths and reading at primary school.
“In terms of key stage 3, I do worry about making sure that the gains that children are making in maths and reading in primary school are sustained through secondary school as well and what we need to do is for children to continue reading regularly,” Gibb said.
