Vol. 492 No. 7
52 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Education and Science further to Parliamentary Question No. 279 of 3 June 1998, the basis on which the secretary of his Department reported to the Committee on Education and Science that literacy problems had substantially improved during the 1960s and 1970s but had stabilised since then; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14974/98]
The statement by the Secretary General of my Department to which the Deputy refers arose from an analysis of data on pupils' reading attainment during the period from 1964 to 1993.
Beginning in 1972 a series of surveys were carried out by Department of Education and Science inspectors in co-operation with the Educational Research Centre with a view to monitoring levels of English reading attainment in primary schools on an ongoing basis. Subsequent surveys were conducted in 1980, 1988 and 1993. A national sample of pupils who were in fifth class was selected at random for testing purposes.
The surveys in 1972 and in 1980 show a significant improvement in pupils' reading attainments. However, the studies conducted in 1988, and 1993, show that there has been no change in reading achievement at this level since 1980.
The most recent survey of English reading attainment at fifth class level has just been conducted in May 1998 and the results are being processed at present.
