Reading Ages in Hong Kong Amongst the Best in the World
Hong Kong’s nine and 10-year-olds have taken second place in a major international literacy study comparing the reading ability of children of the same age in 43 different countries, a title they have retained from 2016, the last time the survey was carried out. Singapore now tops the table, taking over from previous leaders Russia. Other consistently high-achieving countries included England, Finland, Poland and Taiwan. All participating countries had near universal literacy.
Despite the improvement in ranking, Hong Kong’s score remained virtually unchanged since the last round of assessments in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (Pirls), which took place in 2016, moving from 570 t0 573 in the period. The international average for the 43 countries in 520. These scores represent the average “benchmark” of tested students. The study places the “High Benchmark” at 550, and the “Advanced Benchmark” at 625, a score reached by, on average, only 7% of students in all participating countries.
The study has been conducted every five years since 2001 (https://www.iea.nl/studies/iea/pirls) by Boston College and various partner associations around the world. The study is based on shared expectations of the participating counties of what children in the fourth grade “should” be able to read. The most recent iteration of the study was the first time a digital version was included, subsequently administers by about half of the countries participating. In total, around 400,000 students participated. In addition to a reading assessment, the study uses school, teacher, student and home questionnaires. Most importantly, this version of the study ran from November 2020 to June 2022, covering much of Covid-induced disruption to education. The study is used by educators and policymakers to make evidence-based decisions about reading and curricula. Hong Kong is one place that has participated in every study since its inception.
Other countries, however, saw their scores fall significantly over a period in which there was widespread disruption to education due to the Covid pandemic. Only 11 of the 43 countries that tested pupils of the same age in Pirls 2021 managed to avoid significant declines, including Hong Kong, which actually demonstrated slight improvement.
Jon Andrews, head of analysis at the UK’s Education Policy Institute, said: “Today’s Pirls results resonate with our own findings that outcomes in reading have been recovered to their pre-pandemic levels. However, our analysis also suggests that in maths, primary school pupils remain around one and a half months behind pre-pandemic norms in their learning.”
In the UK, Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: “This is a badly needed piece of good news for an education system that feels beleaguered. These excellent results in reading standards of nine-10-year-olds are testament to the hard work, skill and dedication of primary school teachers and leaders.”
© 晉博教學中心 Brighten Test Prep Centre
