Average PIRLS reading literacy scores of 4th-graders, by country: 2001

¹Met international guidelines for sample participation rates only after replacement schools were included.

²National defined population covers less than 95 percent of national desired population.

³National desired population does not cover all of international desired population.

⁴Canada is represented by the provinces of Ontario and Quebec (O, Q) only.

⁵Hong Kong SAR is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China.

⁶Nearly satisfied guidelines for sample participation rates after replacement schools were included.

NOTE: Participants were scored on a 1,000-point scale. The international standard deviation is 100 points. The test for significance between the U.S. average and the international average was adjusted to account for the contribution of the U.S. average to the international average.

SOURCE: Ogle, L.T., Sen, A., Pahlke, E., Jocelyn, L., Kastberg, D., Roey, S., and Williams, T. (2003). International Comparisons in Fourth-Grade Reading Literacy: Findings from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) of 2001 (NCES 2003-073), figure 3. Data from International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), 2001.