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Table B.1.03. Average PIRLS reading literacy scores of fourth-grade students, by sex and jurisdiction: 2006
 
Jurisdiction Average score s.e.   Average score s.e.   Average score   s.e.
International average 509 0.6   492 0.6   17 * 0.5
                   
Austria 543 2.3   533 2.6   10 * 2.3
Belgium (Flemish)1  550 2.3   544 2.4   6 * 2.5
Belgium (French) 502 2.8   497 2.9   5 * 2.3
Bulgaria 558 4.4   537 5.0   21 * 3.8
Canada, Alberta 564 2.4   556 2.7   8 * 1.9
                   
Canada, British Columbia 562 2.9   554 3.1   9 * 3.0
Canada, Nova Scotia 553 2.5   531 2.8   21 * 3.2
Canada, Ontario 562 3.3   549 3.3   13 * 3.8
Canada, Quebec 539 2.7   527 3.5   13 * 3.0
Chinese Taipei 542 2.2   529 2.3   13 * 1.9
                   
Denmark 553 2.8   539 2.7   14 * 3.2
England 549 3.0   530 2.8   19 * 2.7
France 527 2.4   516 2.4   11 * 2.5
Georgia 480 3.3   463 3.8   17 * 3.2
Germany 551 2.5   544 2.5   7 * 2.6
                   
Hong Kong SAR2  569 2.5   559 2.8   10 * 2.5
Hungary 554 3.6   548 2.9   5 * 2.6
Iceland 520 1.7   501 1.9   19 * 2.5
Indonesia 415 4.2   395 4.6   20 * 3.3
Iran 429 5.3   414 3.8   14 * 6.7
                   
Israel 520 4.1   506 3.7   15 * 4.0
Italy 555 3.3   548 3.3   7 * 2.9
Kuwait 364 4.7   297 6.2   67 * 7.5
Latvia 553 2.7   530 2.6   23 * 2.7
Lithuania 546 2.0   528 2.0   18 * 2.2
                   
Luxembourg 559 1.3   556 1.6   3   2.0
Macedonia 453 4.4   432 4.4   21 * 3.5
Moldova 507 3.1   493 3.5   14 * 2.5
Morocco 332 6.6   314 6.6   18 * 5.8
Netherlands1  551 2.0   543 1.6   7 * 2.2
                   
New Zealand 544 2.2   520 2.9   24 * 3.1
Norway3  508 2.8   489 3.1   19 * 3.2
Poland 528 2.6   511 2.7   17 * 2.6
Qatar 372 1.7   335 1.7   37 * 2.6
Romania 497 5.0   483 5.7   14 * 4.2
                   
Russian Federation 572 3.9   557 3.4   15 * 2.9
Scotland1  538 3.6   516 3.1   22 * 3.8
Singapore 567 3.1   550 3.3   17 * 2.9
Slovak Republic 537 2.7   525 3.3   11 * 2.5
Slovenia 532 2.1   512 2.7   19 * 2.5
                   
South Africa 319 6.3   283 5.5   -36 * 4.6
Spain 515 2.6   511 3.1   -4   2.8
Sweden 559 2.6   541 2.6   -18 * 2.5
Trinidad and Tobago 451 4.9   420 6.0   -31 * 5.6
United States1 545 3.3   535 4.4   -10 * 3.2
*p <05. Average female - male score point difference is statistically significant.
1 Met guidelines for sample participation rates only after replacement schools were included.
2 Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China.
3 Did not meet guidelines for sample participation rates after replacement schools were included.
NOTE: The female-male score point difference is calculated by subtracting the average scores of males from the average scores of females, using unrounded numbers. Apparent differences may not be statistically significant. Detail may not sum to total due to rounding. 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), 2006. Baer, J., Baldi S., and Ayotte, K. (2007). 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) (NCES 2008-017), table R-4. National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC.
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