Best in class: Irish primary pupils rank highest in Europe for reading

Irish primary pupils are the best in Europe at reading and boys here have improved their skills more than girls in the last five years.

Best in class: Irish primary pupils rank highest in Europe for reading

Irish primary pupils are the best in Europe at reading and boys here have improved their skills more than girls in the last five years, writes Education Correspondent Niall Murray.

The results from an international test carried out in 50 countries last year are a further vindication of the increased focus on literacy in primary schools since 2011.

In April 2016, 4,607 fourth-class pupils took the 80-minute test at 148 schools for the latest Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS).

Of children in equivalent school grades in 50 countries, only those in Singapore and Russia performed significantly better than those in Irish schools. Our pupils’ average score of 567 in the 2016 tests was fourth overall and places us in a 'statistical dead heat' in the ranks of second-best with four other countries: Hong Kong, Poland, Northern Ireland and Finland.

The results show major improvements in the five years since the last such tests, and the primary education of the children who took part coincided with the introduction of literacy reforms in all Irish schools.

The latest Irish score average is 15 points better than in 2011, when Ireland ranked 10th internationally and when five of the 44 other countries had significantly better scores.

The improvement compares to increases for just 18 out of the 42 countries that also took part five years earlier, according to analysis by the Educational Research Centre (ERC). It conducted the testing in Ireland and lead researcher Eemer Eivers said the Irish pupils showed a good overall improvement in all areas of the tests.

"It’s not attributable to doing really well in this and not so great in that, we’ve improved significantly in all the main reading areas," she said.

Not only has the overall average reading score of our fourth-class pupils increased significantly, but the gap between the scores of boys and girls has been closed too.

Although girls still outperform boys in Ireland by 12 points, this is far lower than the international average difference of 19.

A particularly notable aspect has been the improvement of boys on the literary testing, suggesting young boys are being exposed more to reading for reasons other than extracting information and may have more literacy supports at home than in the past.

The literacy and numeracy strategy introduced in 2011 has placed a new focus on integrating the development of reading and writing into all aspects of the primary curriculum. It also involved a significant investment in associated training for existing teachers, reforms in pre-service approaches to teaching literacy for those preparing to enter the profession, and more interaction by schools and teachers with parents.

The proportion of Irish children with advanced reading skills - scoring 625 or higher - has increased from 16% to 21% since the last PIRLS tests. In the same period, the study shows those with only basic reading ability dropped significantly.

Education Minister Richard Bruton said the significant improvements shown since the 2011 PIRLS tests are very encouraging, and consistent with findings in other national and international reports of reading ability at primary and second-level.

“I would like to pay tribute to all principals, teachers and all those who made these fantastic results possible," he said.

"Being literate is a fundamental skill. It enables our young people to confidently participate in education and fulfil their full potential in life," Mr Bruton said.

Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) general secretary Sheila Nunan said the results are down to the tremendous professional work of high-quality primary teachers. She said a major contributor to the results has been the teaching of Irish children by a fully-qualified professional workforce since 2011, and the enforcement of rules dictating only those with appropriate qualifications can work in Irish schools.

"However there is now a significant shortage of teachers and a rise in the number of people with no qualifications in Irish classrooms. The INTO is putting the minister and the Department of Education on notice. These results cannot be sustained without a fully-qualified workforce," she said.

"Pay inequality is driving teacher emigration and fueling a teacher shortage here. This crisis must be resolved if Ireland is to remain top of the European class,” Ms Nunan said.

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