Average combined reading literacy scale scores of 4th-graders, by reading subscale and educational jurisdiction: 2001 and 2006

Academic Outcomes

Table 18-2. Average combined reading literacy scale scores of 4th-graders, by reading subscale and educational jurisdiction: 2001 and 2006

			Reading subscale
	Combined reading literacy		Literary subscale		Informational subscale
Educational jurisdiction	2001	2006	2001	2006	2001	2006

Bulgaria	550	547	550	542	551	550
England	553	539*	559	539*	546	537*
France	525	522	518	516	533	526*
Germany	539	548*	537	549*	538	544*
Hong Kong, SAR¹	528	564*	518	557*	537	568*
Hungary	543	551*	548	557*	537	541
Iceland	512	511	520	514*	504	505
Iran, Islamic Republic of	414	421	421	426	408	420*
Israel	509	512	510	516	507	507
Italy	541	551*	543	551	536	549*
Kuwait	396	330*	394	340*	403	327*
Latvia	545	541	537	539	547	540*
Lithuania	543	537*	546	542	540	530*
Macedonia	442	442	441	439	445	450
Moldova	492	500	480	492*	505	508
Morocco	350	323*	347	317*	358	335
Netherlands²	554	547*	552	545*	553	548
New Zealand	529	532	531	527	525	534*
Norway³	499	498	506	501	492	494
Ontario, Canada	548	554	551	554	542	551*
Quebec, Canada	537	533	534	529	541	533*
Romania	512	489*	512	493*	512	487*
Russian Federation	528	565*	523	561*	531	564*
Scotland²	528	527	529	527	527	527
Singapore	528	558*	528	552*	527	563*
Slovak Republic	518	531*	512	533*	522	527
Slovenia	502	522*	499	519*	503	523*
Sweden	561	549*	559	546*	559	549*
United States²	542	540	550	541	533	537

* Significantly different from 2001 average (p < .05).
¹ Hong Kong SAR is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China.
² Met guidelines for sample participation rates in 2006 only after replacement schools were included.
³ Did not meet guidelines in 2006 for sample participation rates after replacement schools were included.
NOTE: Results from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) assessment are reported on a combined reading literacy scale, which captures students’ overall literacy skills, and two subscales that measure two types of purposes of reading: reading for literary purposes and reading for informational purposes. The combined reading literacy score is calculated on the basis of all the items in the assessment, whereas the subscale scores are calculated on the basis of the items making up each of the two subscales. Because the combined reading literacy scale and the two subscales are calculated separately using the properties of all of the items in the given scale or subscale, the combined reading literacy score is not the simple average of the two subscales.
SOURCE: Baer, J., Baldi, S., Ayotte, K., and Green, P. (2007). The Reading Literacy of U.S. Fourth-Grade Students in an International Context: Results From the 2001 and 2006 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) (NCES 2008-017), table 2, data from the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), 2001 and 2006.

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