International education studies: how do we compare?
Data for a major comparative international study of reading literacy are now being collected by the Ministry of Education.
The data is for the second cycle of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), a project designed to help countries monitor changes in their children’s reading literacy achievement. The first cycle was conducted in 35 countries, including New Zealand, during 2001.
The study is administered every five years, and involves administering a reading assessment at the fourth grade (Year 5 in New Zealand), as well as collecting extensive background information from students’ parents, their reading teachers, and school principals and policy makers.
“The assessment is being administered towards the end of the school year so the southern hemisphere countries – New Zealand, South Africa and Singapore – are administering PIRLS in schools now,” says New Zealand’s national research coordinator of PIRLS, Megan Chamberlain. The northern hemisphere countries collect their data towards the end of their school year in April and May next year.
“In New Zealand, we have a bigger sample this year than in 2001, involving about 6,500 Year 5 students.
“The assessment is being administered in te reo Māori and English, as in 2001. To be assessed using the Māori version, students need to have received at least 80% of their instruction in te reo Māori, preferably for at least four years,” Megan says.
PIRLS is one of a number of international education studies managed by the Ministry of Education’s Comparative Education Research Unit. Others include the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), and the Adult Literacy and Lifeskills Survey (ALL).
For more information on the PIRLS project, including results from the 2001 study, go to
www.minedu.govt.nz/index.cfm?layout=document&documentid=10630&data=l
The international PIRLS website is www.pirls.org.
The Ministry has recently published a summary of key findings for New Zealand in comparative education studies, "International education studies: How do we compare?" For a copy, contact research@minedu.govt.nz
