Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2011
PIRLS 2011
PIRLS 2011 is the third, after PIRLS 2001 and PIRLS 2006, in a five-year cycle of assessment that measures trends in children’s reading literacy achievement and policy and practices related to literacy. Combining newly developed reading assessment passages and questions for 2011 with a selection of secure assessment passages and questions from 2001 and 2006, the study will offer a state-of-the-art assessment of reading comprehension that allows measurement of change since 2001, and a set of questionnaires for student, home (parents/caregivers), teacher and school principal to investigate the experiences young children have at home and school in learning to read.
Within PIRLS 2011 the IEA offers several options for matching the PIRLS assessment to the country’s educational development proposing PIRLS also on fifth or sixth grade. For countries where students are still developing fundamental reading skills and are not ready to face the reading demands of the PIRLS passages, IEA offers prePIRLS at the fourth, fifth or sixth grade. prePIRLS reflects the same conception of reading as PIRLS, except it is less difficult.
Target Population
The international population for PIRLS includes students in the grade that represents four years of schooling, providing that the mean age at the time of testing is at least 9.5 years. A sub-sample of students within a PIRLS classroom will be selected for the web-based reading assessment. In 2011 both PIRLS and prePIRLS may also be delivered to the fifth and sixth grade students.
Participating Educational Systems
The following educational systems participate: Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belgium (French Community), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Bulgaria, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, England, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Hong Kong SAR, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Kuwait, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mongolia, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Scotland, Serbia, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United States.
Schedule
The schedule of activities for PIRLS 2011 began with the first National Research Coordinators (NRC’s) meeting in February 2008. Instrument development and field test activities has been carried out between November 2008 and March 2010. Data collection for the main survey will take place in October–November 2010 (Southern Hemisphere) and April–May 2011 (Northern Hemisphere). The International Report will be released in September 2012, and the International Data Base and User Guide will be available in March 2013.
Management
Led by the IEA TIMSS and PIRLS International Study Center at Boston College, the management consortium also includes the IEA Secretariat and Data Processing and Research Center, the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) in England, Statistics Canada, and the Educational Testing Service (ETS). The study Co-directors are Dr. Michael Martin and Dr. Ina Mullis.
Funding
The international management of PIRLS 2011 project is funded by the participating countries with a support from the United States Department of Education through the National Center for Education Statistics. A yearly participation fee is USD 15,000 plus EURO 15,000 for a period of 5 years.
PIRLS 2011 and TIMSS 2011
As IEA PIRLS and TIMSS international assessments both will be conducted in 2011, this cycle will provide a unique opportunity for international assessment at the fourth grade. Countries participating in both PIRLS and TIMSS at the fourth grade will be able to take advantage of a comprehensive assessment of reading, mathematics, and science, with a rich array of contextual background information.
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