Though they are not directly comparable, some interesting findings emerge from two recent studies which will help to inform literacy practice in England, and the UK as a whole. It will be encouraging for literacy professionals to note that 15-year-old students in the UK came seventh in terms of overall average and that 10-year-olds in England came third overall.

The first of the two studies, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), tested 15-year-olds across 32 countries in 2000 on their ability to reflect on and apply their knowledge and literacy skills to meet the challenges of the adult world. As such, it was based on the application of reading skills and not the mechanics of knowing how to read.

In this study, UK students came seventh in terms of mean performance, below Finland, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland and Korea. It is worth noting, however, that though 95 per cent of the target population was reached, the study excluded 15-year-olds not in school.

PIRLS, the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, conducted in England by the National Foundation for Educational Research, was a comparative study of the reading achievement of 10-year-olds in 2001. Encouragingly, English students achieved more highly on average than other English speaking countries. However, it is worth remembering that while students in England, as well as New
Zealand and Scotland, were in their fifth year of formal schooling, students in the other participating countries started formal education a year later.

In both studies, UK or English students were found to be more able at reading for literary purposes (reflecting and evaluating) than at reading information passages. In addition to this, both studies showed that while the highest-performing students in the UK or England were among the highest internationally, there were more students than would be expected in the lowest levels. Indeed, PIRLS found that England had one of the widest spans of achievement.

PISA questioned students about their level of engagement in reading to discover whether there was a link between reading for pleasure and literacy performance. In all participating countries, a direct correlation was found between the level of engagement with reading and performance in PISA tests. Interestingly, there was only a weak correlation between
socio-economic background and level of engagement in reading.

Much more important, in terms of how much reading for pleasure a student indulged in, was having access to books in the home. PISA found that 15-year-old students, "...who are highly engaged readers and whose parents have the lowest socioeconomic status achieve significantly higher than those whose parents have the highest occupational status but are poorly engaged in reading." Males, outperformed by girls in every country in both studies, were also shown by PISA to be less engaged in reading.

These findings led PISA to conclude that, "...finding ways to engage students in reading may be one of the most effective ways to leverage social change." Indeed, "being more enthusiastic about reading and a frequent reader was more of an advantage, on its own, than having well-educated parents in good jobs. "

It is worrying, in the light of this conclusion, that PIRLS found that although they are on average among the best readers internationally, 10-year-olds in England have a poorer attitude to reading and read less often for fun than pupils in other countries.

The students in PIRLS and PISA were academically seven years apart, with the PISA students having begun their school careers around the advent of the national curriculum and the PIRLS students having experienced an established NC and the National Literacy Strategy. Perhaps the most important thing to
come out of these studies, however, is that it is vital to motivate readers as well as to give them the mechanics of reading. Indeed, the International Adult Literacy Survey (carried out by OECD and Statistics Canada, 1994-1999) found that those with higher levels of reading literacy are more likely to be employed and have higher average salaries than those with lower educational levels.

So, according to PIRLS, we can be optimistic for the future literacy of the adult workforce, but need to be aware that there are those for who the system is not working. If we are to make sure that everyone is able to enjoy the pleasures, skills and confidence that literacy can bring, PISA urges us to find ways to motivate students to read for pleasure and informs us that by doing so we will be effecting
social change. We are teaching the mechanics of reading well, but need to look for more ways to make reading accessible and fun. .

Subscribe to Literacy Today