TIMSS

• Australia’s Year 4 students have not lost ground on their reading skills, despite all the disruptions to schooling during the pandemic.
• But reading performance among students from disadvantaged backgrounds and rural areas still tends to be lower than among other students.

Why is PIRLS important?

• The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study – PIRLS for short – is an international assessment of Year 4 students’ reading comprehension skills.
• The results provide an overview of how different groups of students are performing in these key areas of learning, both within and between countries.

What does PIRLS measure?

• PIRLS has been conducted about every five years since 2001, and Australia has taken part since 2011.
• The Year 4 students who participate in PIRLS each read two texts – either two narrative texts, like a short story; two non-fiction texts, like a short article; or one of each.

How did Australia go?

• The 2021 PIRLS assessment was conducted in the midst of the COVID pandemic, which saw interruptions to normal schooling in many participating countries, including Australia.
• In Australia, 281 schools and 5,487 students were involved.

Meeting the ‘proficient standard’

• Australian students also held their ground when it came to the proportion who met the Australian “proficient standard” for reading.
• About 80% of Australian students met or exceeded the proficient standard in 2021, as they did in 2016.

We still have 20% of students behind

At the same time, this means we still have about 20% of students who do not meet the proficient standard, compared to just one in ten in the highest performing countries, such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Russia. These figures increase if students are from an equity group. For example, 42% of students in remote schools, 40% of First Nations students and 31% of students in disadvantaged schools did not meet the proficient standard.

How can we improve?

• The PIRLS study highlights behaviours, attitudes and strategies that seem to be associated with higher scores on the reading assessment.
• Read more:
  What is that voice in your head when you read?
• Australia’s achievement in PIRLS 2021 is a good result in the context of the pandemic and a testament to our teachers’ dedication and professionalism.

• TORONTO, June 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- On June 21, 2022, the e-Assessment Association presented the prestigious 2022 Lifetime Contribution Award to Dr. Graham Orpwood for his unwavering contribution and commitment to transforming the educational assessment landscape in numerous jurisdictions across the world.
• The Lifetime Contribution Award acknowledges the contribution made by an individual who, in the opinion of the independent panel of judges selected by the e-Assessment Association, deserves to be honoured for their contribution and sustained commitment to e-assessment over the duration of their career.
• Dr. Graham Orpwood is a name synonymous with "Assessment for Learning" in Canada.
• to ensure we have a strong voice and influence in the key policy debates involving the assessment of learning, training, and competency.