- Summary
- Introduction
- Acknowledgements
- Indicators Part I: Population and School Enrollment
- Indicators Part II: Academic Performance
- Indicators Part III: Contexts for Learning
- Indicator 15: Gender Differences in Students' Attitudes Toward Reading
- Indicator 16: Gender Differences in Students' Attitudes Toward Mathematics
- Indicator 17: Gender Differences in Students' Attitudes Toward Science
- Indicator 18: Fourth-Grade Teachers' Strategies for Assisting Students Having Difficulty Reading
- Indicator 19: Teacher Collaboration in Mathematics Instruction
- Indicator 20: Teacher Professional Development in Mathematics
- Indicator 21: Teacher Professional Development in Science
- Indicator 22: Fourth-Grade Reading Teachers' Career Satisfaction
- Indicators Part IV: Expenditure for Education
- Indicators Part V: Education Returns: Educational Attainment and Income
- List of Tables
- List of Exhibit and Figures
- References
- Appendix A: The Education Systems of the G-20 Countries
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Indicator 18: Fourth-Grade Teachers' Strategies for Assisting Students Having Difficulty Reading
G-20 Countries Included: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom (England and Northern Ireland), United States
The United States had the largest percentage of fourth-graders whose teachers indicated that specialists were always available to assist students with their reading (45 percent), as well the smallest percentage of fourth-graders whose teachers indicated that specialists were never available (12 percent).
Using data from PIRLS 2011, this indicator presents teachers' reports about the strategies that they used to help fourth-graders having difficulty reading. Teachers were given a list of strategies and asked whether each one was used if a student begins to fall behind in reading. This indicator focuses on three strategies in particular: asking parents to help their child with reading, working with students individually, and waiting and seeing if performance improved with maturation. The indicator also addresses the avail-ability of a specialized professional to work with students who have difficulty reading
The percentage of fourth-graders whose teachers reported asking parents to help their child with reading ranged from 88 percent in France to 100 percent in Germany and the Russian Federation (figure 18-1). Ninety-five percent of U.S. fourth-graders had teachers who reported using this strategy. The percentage of fourth-graders whose teachers reported working with students individually ranged from 77 percent in Germany and Indonesia to 97 percent in the Russian Federation. In Australia, Canada, France, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom (Northern Ireland), and the United States, teachers worked with students individually about as frequently as they asked parents to help their child with reading.
In contrast, the percentage of fourth-graders whose teachers reported waiting and seeing if performance improved with maturation ranged widely, from 22 percent in the United Kingdom (Northern Ireland) to 79 percent in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, in 7 of the 11 G-20 countries (including the United States), fewer than half of fourth-graders had teachers who reported using this strategy, and in all countries it was the least frequently used of the three strategies reported in this indicator.
PIRLS also asked teachers of fourth-graders about their access to specialized reading professionals. The United States had the largest percentage of fourth-graders whose teachers indicated that reading professionals were always available (45 percent), as well as the smallest percentage of fourth-graders whose teachers indicated that reading professionals were never available (12 percent) (figure 18-2). In general, the G-20 countries could be categorized into two groups based on this characteristic. In six of the countries (Australia, Canada, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom [England and Northern Ireland], and the United States), about three-quarters or more of the students had teachers who reported having access to a reading professional at least sometimes. In the other five countries (France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, and Saudi Arabia), nearly two-thirds or more of the students had teachers who reported they never have access to a reading professional to assist with students' reading.
Definitions and Methodologie
Data for this indicator are from the PIRLS 2011 fourth-grade teacher questionnaire, which was administered to the teachers of the students sampled for PIRLS. The questionnaire included questions on teachers' background and on their teaching practices in the sampled students' classes. One or two classes were randomly sampled in each school, and teachers were asked to complete a questionnaire for each class they taught that contained sampled students. Thus, if a teacher taught two classes with sampled students, he or she was expected to complete a questionnaire for each of these classes. It should be noted that the PIRLS 2011 fourth-grade teachers do not constitute representative samples of teachers. Rather, they are the teachers for nationally representative samples of fourth-grade students. Thus, the teacher data presented in this indicator were analyzed at the student level.
Teachers' reports about the use of various strategies to help fourth-graders having difficulty reading are based on the percent-ages of students whose teachers responded "yes" to a list of strategies that follow the question, "What do you usually do if a student begins to fall behind in reading?"
Teachers' reports about the availability of specialized reading professionals to assist fourth-graders having difficulty reading are based on their responses to the question, "Are the following resources available to you to deal with students who have difficult with reading?" As shown in figure 18-2, the results are based on the percentages of students whose teachers responded "always," "sometimes," or "never" to the availability of a specialized reading professional either in the classroom or in a remedial reading classroom.
In PIRLS 2011, countries were required to sample students in the grade that corresponded to the end of 4 years of formal schooling, providing that the mean age at the time of testing was at least 9.5 years. As defined by PIRLS, the first year of formal schooling begins with the first year of primary school (ISCED97 level 1), which should mark the beginning of formal instruction in reading, writing, and mathematics. (Note that kindergarten is not counted.) For most countries, the target grade was fourth grade or its national equivalent.