Indicator 36: Books at Home

The number of books in the home is often an indicator of social and economic status. In addition, books provide children with opportunities for learning and intellectual growth. In a recent study of student achievement, the number of books in the home was positively associated with the geography, mathematics, and science achievement of 9- and 13-year-old students within a given country. However, this characteristic did not differentiate between high- and low-performing countries.

• Seventeen percent of 13-year-old students in the United States reported having fewer than 25 books in their home in 1991. In only two other countries (Israel and Hungary) did a smaller percentage of students report having fewer than 25 books at home, while a higher percentage of students reported having fewer than 25 books at home in six other countries (France, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Scotland, and Taiwan). The remaining countries reported percentages similar to that of the United States.

• The percentage of students reporting fewer than 25 books at home varied greatly across the countries reported, ranging from 10 percent in Hungary and Israel to 51 percent in Jordan.

Table 36: Percentage of 13-year-old students who reported having fewer than 25 books
in their home, by country: 1991

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Country				Total1
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G-72
Canada				13 (0.8)
France				24 (1.3)
United States			17 (1.3)
Other
Hungary				10 (1.0)
Ireland				24 (1.6)
Israel				10 (0.8)
Jordan				51 (1.7)
Korea				24 (1.2)
Scotland			26 (1.7)
Slovenia			19 (1.0)
Soviet Union (former)		12 (1.8)
Spain				19 (1.2)
Switzerland			16 (1.1)
Taiwan				35 (1.2)
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1/ Jackknifed standard errors are in parentheses.
2/ No data available for Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

NOTE: Only countries in which comprehensive student populations were represented by the survey samples are included. Questionnaire administrations in Brazil, China, England, and Portugal either excluded groups or had participation rates below 70 percent. See supplemental note to Indicator 36 for details on indicator calculation for Canada, Israel, Scotland, the former Soviet Union, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States.

SOURCE: Educational Testing Service, International Assessment of Educational Progress, Learning Mathematics, 1992.

Figure 36: Percentage of students with fewer than 25 books in their home, by selected country: 1991

NOTE: no data available for Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

SOURCE: Educational Testing Service, International Assessment of Education Progress, Learning Mathematics, 1992

See Supplemental Notes on Figure and Tables.

[Indicator 35]

[Indicator 37]