PIRLS 2006 International Database: Progress in International Reading Literacy Study

PIRLS provides trends and international comparisons of fourth grade students’ reading achievement and students’ competencies in relation to goals and standards for reading education. In addition to reading assessment, the PIRLS school, teacher, student and home questionnaires gather extensive information about the contextual factors at home and school which are associated with the teaching and learning of reading. 
PIRLS 2006 is part of a five-year cycle of assessments that measures trends in children’s reading literacy achievement and policy and practices related to literacy. Countries that participated in PIRLS 2001 can obtain data about changes in children’s reading achievement. They also can collect valuable information about changes in reading instruction and how those changes relate to students’ performance in reading. Countries new to the study can collect baseline data about their students’ levels of reading achievement, as well as home, school, and classroom influences on that achievement.