Use and Impact of PIRLS

Northern Ireland took part in PIRLS for the first time in the 2011 cycle. Important findings include the following:⁵⁴

Students in Northern Ireland achieved a mean score of 558 in reading, significantly above the PIRLS scale centerpoint of 500.
Northern Ireland was outperformed by only four of the 45 participating countries and was the highest ranking English speaking country.
Students performed comparatively better on the PIRLS reading assessment than on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in reading.
Girls scored significantly higher than boys.
The students who like reading most had higher average achievement scores.
The proportion of students in Northern Ireland who like reading was similar to the international average, although the proportion of students in Northern Ireland who do not like reading was higher than the international average.
Almost one-fifth of students in Northern Ireland reached the Advanced International Benchmark in reading, the second highest proportion internationally. Only 3 percent of students failed to reach the Low International Benchmark.

When these results were announced, they were welcomed by the Northern Ireland Assembly’s Committee for Education. The committee chairperson added that the committee would like to review the findings more closely to establish why attainment at ages 9 to 10 did not always translate into success at the post-primary (secondary) level, particularly for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.⁵⁵