Exhibit 2.5 describes the reading comprehension skills and strategies demonstrated by fourth grade students at the Advanced International Benchmark. Students at the Advanced International Benchmark could make inferences from complex information; interpret and integrate information within and across webpages to show thorough understanding; and evaluate the effects of features to begin to understand the writer’s point of view.
Exhibits 2.5.1 through 2.5.6 contain six examples to demonstrate the range in the types of items successfully answered by students achieving at the Advanced International Benchmark. Each exhibit shows achievement results for the countries that participated in ePIRLS, with up and down arrows indicating a significantly higher or lower percentage of success than the international average. The reading comprehension process and scale anchoring description are provided above the item. For multiple-choice items, the correct response is indicated. Constructed response questions were worth 1, 2, or 3 points. Each constructed response item is shown with an illustrative student response and the amount of credit awarded the response is shown across the bottom of the exhibit, usually full credit.
Exhibits 2.5.1 and 2.5.2 show examples of students making inferences from relatively complex text to answer constructed response questions. Example Items 2.5.3 and 2.5.4 illustrate how students at the Advanced International Benchmark were able to interpret and integrate information across websites, Example 2.5.5 shows they could evaluate text to explain a writer’s point of view, and Example 2.5.6 shows that they could evaluate the use of a timeline.
