PIRLS 2016 in Northern Ireland: Reading Achievement

Data from the 2016 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) reveals that children in only two of the 50 countries, Singapore and Russia, performed better than local pupils in the international reading study.

The PIRLS study was carried out in Northern Ireland by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) for the Department of Education during 2016.

The overall average PIRLS score for Northern Ireland’s pupils remained stable between 2011 and 2016. However, there was an increase in the proportion of pupils working at more advanced levels with 22 per cent of pupils reaching the Advanced International Benchmark in 2016 compared with 19 per cent in 2011 (the international average is 10%).

The study also revealed that:

• Children in Northern Ireland have a positive attitude towards reading and find their reading lessons engaging.
• Primary schools in Northern Ireland have highly qualified principals and the majority of teachers reported that they were very satisfied with their job.
• Principals and teachers in Northern Ireland reported some of the highest levels of emphasis on academic success of any participating nation.

The PIRLS study confirms what was reported in the Trends in International Maths and Science Study 2015 (TIMSS) - that most children in Northern Ireland attend schools with an environment that is conducive to learning and that have sufficient technological resources. Schools have few disciplinary problems and are safe and orderly places of learning, where pupils report relatively low levels of bullying. These positive aspects of the school learning environment have remained unchanged since the last PIRLS study in 2011.

Main Findings:

• Pupils in Northern Ireland significantly outperformed 41 of the 49 other participating countries in reading and were significantly outperformed by two countries.
• The average score for reading (565) in Northern Ireland is statistically similar to six other countries, including two comparator countries (Republic of Ireland and Poland).
• Northern Ireland’s performance in reading has remained stable from 2011 to 2016, with no significant difference in the overall average score. This was also the case for Singapore. In contrast, the Republic of Ireland and England have improved significantly since 2011, while Canada and New Zealand’s scores have significantly decreased.
• Of the four countries that outperformed Northern Ireland in 2011, only the Russian Federation and Singapore outperformed Northern Ireland again in 2016.
• In Northern Ireland, and all comparator countries, there were significant gender differences in attainment in reading, favouring girls. This was in line with the gender differences seen internationally.
• The gender difference in attainment in Northern Ireland in reading was apparent in both the 2011 and 2016 PIRLS cycles. This was the same in Canada, England, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland and Singapore. The gap between boys and girls has increased slightly since 2011. Northern Ireland has shown an increase of two scale points, whereas the international average increased by three scale points.
• Compared to Northern Ireland and the other comparator countries, England has shown the largest reduction (eight scale points) in the difference between girls’ and boys’ average scale scores in reading since 2011.
• Over a fifth of pupils in Northern Ireland (22 per cent) reached the ‘Advanced International Benchmark’ in reading, the third highest percentage internationally.
• Only three per cent of pupils in Northern Ireland failed to reach the ‘Low International Benchmark’. In comparison, the international average was four per cent.
• There was a significant increase in the percentage of pupils in Northern Ireland reaching the ‘Advanced International Benchmark’ in PIRLS 2016 compared with 2011 (22 per cent in 2016; 19 per cent in 2011).
• In Northern Ireland, there was a relatively wide spread of attainment for reading between the highest and the lowest attainers. Only one of the comparator countries, New Zealand, had a greater gap in mean scores between the highest and lowest attainers.
• In Northern Ireland, the proportion of pupils who ‘Very Much Like Reading’ (39 per cent) was lower than the international average (43 per cent). Pupil engagement was in line with the international average (61 and 60 per cent respectively) and pupil confidence was higher than internationally (50 and 45 per cent respectively).
• In Northern Ireland, and internationally, pupils who most liked reading had higher average attainment scores than those who did not like reading.
• In Northern Ireland, pupils who were categorised as ‘Very Confident’ had higher attainment scores than those who were less confident. This was also seen internationally.
• Pupils who were ‘Less than Engaged’ in their reading lessons were likely to have a lower average attainment score than pupils who were ‘Somewhat Engaged’ or ‘Very Engaged’.
• Compared to the six comparator countries, Northern Ireland had the second highest percentage of pupils categorised as ‘Very Engaged’ in their reading lessons but the third lowest percentage of pupils feeling ‘Very Confident’ in reading. However, the percentages for these two categories were greater than the international average in Northern Ireland.
• Northern Ireland had a high proportion of pupils (80 per cent) attending schools run by principals who have completed a postgraduate university degree, relative to the international average (48 per cent).
• The proportion of pupils taught by teachers who have completed a postgraduate university degree was 19 per cent, and similar to the international average (20 per cent).
• Of the comparator countries, Poland had the highest percentage of pupils attending schools run by principals and taught by teachers who have completed a postgraduate university degree (99 and 100 per cent respectively).
• Of the three specialist areas surveyed (language, pedagogy/teaching reading and reading theory), 69 per cent of pupils in Northern Ireland were taught by teachers who had specialised in language, a proportion similar to the international average (70 per cent).
• The percentage of pupils whose teachers reported being very satisfied with their jobs was higher in Northern Ireland (62 per cent) than in all six comparator countries and higher than the international average (57 per cent).
• Overall, Northern Ireland was categorised as ‘Somewhat Affected’ by shortages in reading resources. However, the percentage of pupils who, according to principals, were ‘Not Affected’ by shortages (44 per cent) was higher than the international average (31 per cent).
• All comparator countries were categorised as being ‘Not Affected’ by shortages in reading resources, except the Republic of Ireland which, like Northern Ireland, was ‘Somewhat Affected’.
• Principals in Northern Ireland reported that only three to seven per cent of pupils were taught in schools where teaching was affected ‘A Lot’ by a shortage or inadequacy of the following four technological resources:
  • technically competent staff
  • audio-visual resources
  • computer technology for teaching and learning
  • computer software / applications for reading.
• In each of these, the percentage of pupils affected in Northern Ireland was lower than international averages.
• Four-fifths of pupils attended schools in which the principals indicated that there were sufficient computers to equip one or two pupils per computer.
• Findings from the teacher questionnaire indicated that over three-quarters of pupils had computers available to use for reading lessons and that pupils in Northern Ireland were more likely to use computers for reading activities than the average internationally.
• Northern Ireland had a lower percentage of pupils attending schools equipped with a school library (74 per cent) than the international average (87 per cent). However, nearly all Year 6 classes in Northern Ireland had a well-stocked classroom library (93 per cent), used regularly by the pupils. This was much higher than the international average of 72 per cent.
• The majority (83 per cent) of pupils in Northern Ireland attended schools which were categorised as ‘Very Safe and Orderly’ (as reported by teachers). This had improved significantly since the 2011 PIRLS survey.
• Eighty-five per cent of pupils in Northern Ireland attended schools categorised by principals as having ‘Hardly Any’ discipline problems; the third highest proportion internationally.
• Pupils in Northern Ireland reported experiencing bullying behaviours less frequently than those in most other participating countries, leading them to be categorised as being ‘Almost Never’ bullied. This was also the case in 2011.
• Teachers in Northern Ireland reported that their teaching was rarely limited by disruptive or uninterested pupils. Nearly two-thirds of pupils had teachers who reported that their teaching of reading was ‘Not at All’ limited by disruptive pupils. ‘Uninterested’ pupils were a greater problem, although 41 per cent of pupils still had teachers who reported that this did ‘Not at All’ limit their teaching of reading.

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PIRLS 2016 in Northern Ireland: Reading Achievement

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