Province's students rate highly in survey of literacy levels

Results from a major international survey of student achievement show that the reading abilities of young students in Northern Ireland ranks alongside their counterparts in England and the Republic of Ireland.

The PISA survey, carried out in 32 countries by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), aims to assess the knowledge and skills of 15 year olds in reading, mathematics and science.

The survey of some 2,849 pupils in Northern Ireland was commissioned by the Department of Education as part of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

The latest survey points out that pupils in Northern Ireland did significantly better than the OECD average in reading, mathematics and science. In each of these subjects, the average score for pupils from all OECD countries participating was 500, whereas pupils in Northern Ireland had an average score of 519 points in reading; 524 points in mathematics and 523 points in science.

In reading, which was the main focus of PISA, the proportion of pupils in Northern Ireland who demonstrated the highest level of proficiency (referred to as Level 5) was 16 per cent compared with the Republic’s 14 per cent and significantly higher than OED average of 10 per cent.

However, the survey revealed that despite upbeat overall statistics, 10 per cent of pupils in this category were classed as being at Level 1, and 5 per cent were unable to demonstrate even this basic level of competence. Students whose proficiency in reading literacy is rated below Level 1 are not necessarily unable to read, but they do have serious difficulty in using reading literacy as an effective tool in other areas.

Commenting on the results Education Minister Martin McGuinness, said: “This study provides an interesting insight to how our pupils are performing in an international context.

“Overall, young people here performed significantly better than the OECD average in reading, mathematics and science. This is great news and reflects the high level of commitment from teachers and young people.

“However, we cannot ignore the study’s finding that the range of scores here was among the widest in the world. In my view, this underlines the inequities of our current selective system and is further evidence that too many of our young people are under-achieving under the current arrangements.”

Mr McGuinness said his department is currently reviewing its Literacy Strategy and hopes to agree new developments early next year. Raising literacy standards will continue to be a top curriculum priority, he said, and this year plans to spend £5.4m to support literacy initiatives. (AMcE)