PIRLS 2006 Report

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Table 1.

Average scores of fourth-grade students on Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) reading literacy scale and cutpoint scores for bottom and top 10 percent of students in each jurisdiction, by jurisdiction: 2006

Jurisdiction

Score

s.e.

Cutpoint score

Bottom 10 percent

s.e.

Top 10 percent

s.e.

Russian Federation

565

3.4

474

4.0

649

3.6

Hong Kong, SAR ¹

564

2.4

486

5.1

637

2.4

Canada, Alberta

560

2.4

472

3.9

645

3.1

Canada, British Colombia

558

2.6

467

7.3

645

2.7

Singapore

558

2.9

456

4.7

652

4.0

Luxembourg

557

1.1

470

3.7

641

1.9

Canada, Ontario

555

2.7

463

5.6

644

3.6

Hungary

551

3.0

459

8.2

637

3.0

Italy

551

2.9

462

4.5

637

4.8

Sweden

549

2.3

465

6.5

627

3.1

Germany

548

2.2

463

4.2

627

1.8

Belgium (Flemish)²

547

2.0

474

3.7

616

1.9

Bulgaria

547

4.4

437

5.2

647

5.6

Netherlands ²

547

1.5

478

2.9

613

1.4

Denmark

546

2.3

454

6.1

629

3.3

Canada, Nova Scotia

542

2.2

442

3.4

634

3.6

Latvia

541

2.3

460

3.6

619

2.8

United States ²

540

3.5

441

6.6

631

3.7

England

539

2.6

423

5.1

645

3.4

Austria

538

2.2

454

3.3

617

4.0

Lithuania

537

1.6

461

3.4

608

2.6

Chinese Taipei

535

2.0

451

3.9

613

2.3

Canada, Quebec

533

2.8

450

5.0

611

4.1

New Zealand

532

2.0

415

4.0

637

4.0

Slovak Republic

531

2.8

433

6.0

617

2.9

Scotland ²

527

2.8

420

7.4

624

3.3

France

522

2.1

433

3.2

605

1.7

Slovenia

522

2.1

427

2.9

608

3.0

Poland

519

2.4

417

4.9

612

2.9

Spain

513

2.5

420

5.1

599

3.6

Israel

512

3.3

369

10.1

626

2.8

Iceland

511

1.3

417

3.5

594

2.2

Belgium (French)

500

2.6

409

4.1

585

3.5

Moldova, Rep. of

500

3.0

406

5.1

584

3.8

Norway ³

498

2.6

409

5.8

579

2.8

Romania

489

5.0

362

10.2

597

4.6

Georgia

471

3.1

369

5.0

565

2.2

Macedonia, Rep. of

442

4.1

305

6.4

571

3.5

Trinidad and Tobago

436

4.9

295

7.9

563

5.4

Iran, Islamic Rep. of

421

3.1

295

5.3

539

3.4

Indonesia

405

4.1

301

6.6

504

4.7

Qatar

353

1.1

228

3.7

479

1.8

Kuwait

330

4.2

186

8.3

476

4.8

Morocco

323

5.9

181

7.3

468

10.2

South Africa

302

5.6

141

5.3

500

12.9

Score is higher than U.S. score.

Score is lower than U.S. score.

¹ Hong Kong, SAR, is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China.
² Met Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) guidelines for sample participation rates only after replacement schools were included.
³ Did not meet guidelines for sample participation rates after replacement schools were included.
NOTE: Jurisdictions are ordered on the basis of average scores, from highest to lowest. Reading literacy scores are reported on a scale from 0 to 1,000. A cutpoint score is the threshold score for an established level of performance. The cutpoint scores for students in the top 10 percent is the 90th percentile score within the jurisdiction. The cutpoint score for students in the bottom 10 percent is the 10th percentile score within the jurisdiction. Standard error is abbreviated as "s.e." 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.
SOURCE: Mullis, I.V.S., Martin, M.O., Kennedy, A.M., and Foy, P. (2007). PIRLS 2006 International Report: IEA’s Progress in International Reading Literacy Study in Primary Schools in 40 Countries, exhibit 1.1. Chestnut Hill, MA: TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center, Boston College; and International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), 2006, unpublished tabulations (November 2008).