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

Academic Outcomes

Table 18-3. Average combined reading literacy scale scores of 4th-graders, by reading subscale, sex, and educational jurisdiction: 2006

			Reading subscale
	Combined reading literacy		Literary subscale		Informational subscale
Educational jurisdiction	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female

International average	492	509*	491	509*	493	509*
Alberta, Canada	556	564*	556	567*	553	559*
Austria	533	543*	531	543*	533	540*
Belgium (Flemish)¹	544	550*	541	547*	545	550*
Belgium (French)	497	502*	495	504*	497	499
British Columbia, Canada	554	562*	553	565*	551	556*
Bulgaria	537	558*	532	553*	542	558*
Chinese Taipei	529	542*	523	538*	534	543*
Denmark	539	553*	541	554*	536	547*
England	530	549*	528	550*	529	545*
France	516	527*	510	523*	521	531*
Georgia	463	480*	470	484*	457	474*
Germany	544	551*	544	554*	542	547*
Hong Kong, SAR²	559	569*	551	564*	564	572*
Hungary	548	554*	553	560*	539	543
Iceland	501	520*	504	525*	497	514*
Indonesia	395	415*	387	408*	409	427*
Iran, Islamic Republic of	414	429*	421	432	412	429*
Israel	506	520*	509	524*	502	513*
Italy	548	555*	548	556*	547	551
Kuwait	297	364*	310	372*	292	361*
Latvia	530	553*	529	550*	527	553*
Lithuania	528	546*	533	550*	521	539*
Luxembourg	556	559	552	557*	556	557
Macedonia	432	453*	429	449*	440	460*
Moldova	493	507*	486	499*	502	514*
Morocco	314	332*	310	326*	326	344*
Netherlands¹	543	551*	541	548*	543	552*
New Zealand	520	544*	516	539*	522	545*
Norway³	489	508*	491	512*	486	502*
Nova Scotia, Canada	531	553*	534	552*	529	549*
Ontario, Canada	549	562*	549	562*	547	558*
Poland	511	528*	514	532*	507	523*
Qatar	335	372*	341	376*	339	374*
Quebec, Canada	527	539*	523	536*	528	539*
Romania	483	497*	485	501*	481	494*
Russian Federation	557	572*	554	568*	555	572*
Scotland¹	516	538*	515	538*	517	537*
Singapore	550	567*	544	560*	555	572*
Slovak Republic	525	537*	527	539*	522	532*
Slovenia	512	532*	511	529*	514	533*
South Africa	283	319*	281	318*	299	332*
Spain	511	515	513	520*	508	508
Sweden	541	559*	536	557*	541	557*
Trinidad and Tobago	420	451*	419	450*	426	455*
United States¹	535	545*	534	547*	532	542*

* Significantly different from the other sex (p < .05).
¹ Met guidelines for sample participation rates only after replacement schools were included.
² Hong Kong SAR is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China.
³ Did not meet guidelines 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), tables R4 and R5, data from the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), 2006.

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