Progress in International Reading Literacy Study

The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) is an international study of reading achievement in fourth graders. It is conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). "It is designed to measure children’s reading literacy achievement, to provide a baseline for future studies of trends in achievement, and to gather information about children’s home and school experiences in learning to read." PIRLS 2006 tested 215,000 students from 46 educational systems. PIRLS 2011(the most recent cycle) testing has been done and the results were published December 2012. “The reading achievement results present each country with an opportunity to examine educational policies and practices against a globally-defined benchmark, while the report also contains rich information about children's early literacy experiences and reading instruction" said PIRLS International Study Directors Ina V.S. Mullis and Michael O. Martin of Boston College.