John Perry
Question:31 Mr. Perry asked the Minister for Education and Science if she will report on the level of moderate and severe literacy difficulties at primary level; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2979/05]
View answerThursday, 3 February 2005
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Reading literacy achievement in primary schools is measured using standardised reading tests. Children's achievement scores on these tests are expressed in percentiles from one to 99. Those who score at or below the tenth percentile are generally regarded as having serious literacy difficulties and would be given additional supports in school, such as learning support teaching. This is a rather arbitrary estimate, as by definition, 10% of children must be at or below the tenth percentile on a standardised test.
There are no reliable estimates or definitions of what constitutes a moderate literacy difficulty at primary level. At second level, the programme for international student achievement, PISA, survey of 15 year olds conducted in 2000 categorised achievement at five levels of proficiency. Those who had the lowest level of literacy achievement were categorised as "below level 1". In Ireland, only 3.1% of children were in this category, well below the OECD average of 6%, while 7.9% of Irish students scored at level 1, compared to an OECD average of 11.9%. Strictly speaking, one cannot extrapolate the findings of the PISA study to primary school children, but PISA represents the best illustration available of the distribution of literacy achievement in the school system.
I believe that literacy achievement is fundamental to a sound education and I will continue to give high priority to maintaining and improving literacy standards.