The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) is an international assessment of the reading literacy of fourth-grade students, administered every five years by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) since 2001. It measures students' comprehension of literary and informational texts across dozens of participating education systems, along with background questionnaires on home, school and classroom reading environments, and is a companion study to the IEA's Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).
Facts
Key ProvisionMeasures children's reading literacy achievement, provides a baseline for trends, and gathers information on home and school experiences in learning to read 1 Enacted / Adopted Year Classification
Policy TypeAssessment or Standards Policy 1 Education LevelPrimary Education (ISCED 1) 1 Policy Status
Policy Status (category) FAQs
What kinds of reading does PIRLS actually test?
Two purposes for reading (literary and informational) and four comprehension processes.
PIRLS assesses two purposes for reading that account for most of the reading young students do in and out of school: reading for literary experience, and reading to acquire and use information. Within each purpose it assesses four comprehension processes: focusing on and retrieving explicitly stated information, making straightforward inferences, interpreting and integrating ideas and information, and evaluating and critiquing content and textual elements. School, teacher, student and home questionnaires also gather information about the home and school factors linked to teaching and learning reading.
Sources
1. PIRLS, Wikipedia
Year First Conducted
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.
What It Assesses
It is designed to measure children's reading literacy achievement, to provide a baseline for future studies of trends in achievement, and to gather information about children's home and school experiences in learning to read.
Lead section
It has been conducted every five years since 2001 by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA).
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