The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) is an assessment of reading comprehension of nine-year-olds in 35 countries and was conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). This report compares findings from the United States with other countries and takes a closer look at performanbe within the United States. Results indicated that: (1) United States fourth graders outperformed their counterparts in 23 of the 34 other countries, although they scored lower than students in England, the Netherlands, and Sweden; (2) the percentage of U.S. fourth graders reaching each of four benchmarks is higher than the international averages; (3) fourth-grade girls scored higher than fourth-grade boys in the combined reading literacy scale on average in every participating country; (4) with the exception of Black fourth graders, each racial/ethnic group in the United States scored higher than the international average on the combined reading literacy scale, as well as on the two reading subscales; (5) fourth graders in U.S. public elementary schools with the highest poverty levels scored lower on the combined reading literacy scale compared to their counterparts in schools with lower poverty levels; (6) 95% of U.S. fourth-grade students attend schools with a curricular emphasis on reading, which is greater than the international average of 78%; (7) 35% of U.S. fourth-grade students reported reading for fun every day or almost every day, which is smaller than the international average of 40%; (8) 32% of U.S. fourth-grade students reported they never or almost never read for fun outside of school, a significantly higher percentage that the international average of 18%; and (9) U.S. fourth graders Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
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