Average PIRLS reading literacy scores of fourth-grade students, by jurisdiction: 2001 and 2006

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Table B.1.01.

Average PIRLS reading literacy scores of fourth-grade students, by jurisdiction: 2001 and 2006

	2001					2006
Jurisdiction	Average score			s.e.		Average score			s.e.
PIRLS scale average		500		0.0	▼		500		0.0	▼

Argentina		420		5.9	▼		—		†
Austria		—		†			538		2.2
Belgium (Flemish)		—		†			547	¹	2.0
Belgium (French)		—		†			500		2.6	▼
Belize		327		4.7	▼		—		†

Bulgaria		550		3.8			547		4.4
Canada, Alberta		—		†			560		2.4	∆
Canada, British Columbia		—		†			558		2.6	∆
Canada, Nova Scotia		—		†			542		2.2
Canada, Ontario		548		3.3			555		2.7	∆

Canada, Quebec		537		3.0			533		2.8
Chinese Taipei		—		†			535		2.0
Colombia		422		4.4	▼		—		†
Cyprus		494		3.0	▼		—		†
Czech Republic		537		2.3			—		†

Denmark		—		†			546		2.3
England		553	^1,2	3.4	∆		539		2.6
France		525		2.4	▼		522		2.1	▼
Georgia		—		†			471		2.2	▼
Germany		539		1.9			548		2.4

Greece		524	²	3.5	▼		—		†
Hong Kong, SAR³		528		3.1	▼		564		2.4	∆
Hungary		543		2.2			551		3.0	∆
Iceland		512		1.2	▼		511		1.3	▼
Indonesia		—		†			405		4.1	▼

Iran, Islamic Republic of		414		4.2	▼		421		3.1	▼
Israel		509	⁴	2.8	▼		512		3.3	▼
Italy		541		2.4			551		2.9	∆
Kuwait		(5)		†			330		4.2	▼
Latvia		545		2.3			541		2.3

Lithuania		543	⁶	2.6			537		1.6
Luxembourg		—		†			557		1.1	∆
Macedonia, Republic of		442		4.6	▼		442		4.1	▼
Moldova, Republic of		492		4.0	▼		500		3.0	▼
Morocco		350	⁷	9.6	▼		323		5.9	▼

Netherlands		554	¹	2.5	∆		547	¹	1.5
New Zealand		529		3.6	▼		532		2.0	▼
Norway		499		2.9	▼		498	⁸	2.6	▼
Poland		—		†			519		2.4	▼
Qatar		—		†			353		1.1	▼

Romania		512		4.6	▼		489		5.0	▼
Russian Federation		528		4.4	▼		565		3.4	∆
Scotland		528	¹	3.6	▼		527	¹	2.8	▼
Singapore		528		5.2	▼		558		2.9	∆
Slovak Republic		518		2.8	▼		531		2.8	▼

Slovenia		502		2.0	▼		522		2.1	▼
South Africa		—		†			302		5.6	▼
Spain		—		†			513		2.5	▼
Sweden		561		2.2	∆		549		2.3	∆
Trinidad and Tobago		—		†			436		4.9	▼

Turkey		449		3.5	▼		—		†
United States		542	¹	*3.8*			540	¹	*3.5*

∆ Score is higher than U.S. score (p <.05).
▼ Score is lower than U.S. score (p <.05).
— Not available. (Data were not collected or not reported.)
† Not applicable.
¹Met guidelines for sample participation rates only after substitute schools were included.
²National Defined Population covers less than 95 percent of the National Target Population.
³Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China.
⁴National Defined Population covers less than 80 percent of the National Target Population.
⁵Although Kuwait participated in 2001 and 2006, the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) elected not to report the 2001 estimates for the country because of concerns about the quality of Kuwait’s data.
⁶National Target Population does not cover all of the International Target Population because coverage falls below 65 percent.
⁷Nearly satisfied guidelines for sample participation rates after substitute schools were included.
⁸Did not meet guidelines for sample participation rates after substitute schools were included.
NOTE: Jurisdictions are ordered alphabetically. Reading literacy scores are reported on a scale from 0 to 1,000. The tests for significance take into account the standard error for the reported difference. Thus, a small difference between the United States and one jurisdiction may be significant while a large difference between the United States and another jurisdiction may not be significant. Standard error is noted by s.e.
SOURCE: Data from the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), 2001 and 2006. Provasnik, S., Gonzales, P., and Miller, D. (2009). U.S. Performance Across International Assessments of Student Achievement: Special Supplement to The Condition of Education 2009 (NCES 2009-083), table A-1. National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC.

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National Center for Education Statistics - http://nces.ed.gov
U.S. Department of Education

U.S. Department of Education
Institute of Education Sciences
National Center for Education Statistics