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chapter 5: school curriculum and organization for teaching reading
How Do Schools Help Students with Reading Difficulties?
Countries differ in their policies and approaches to diagnostic screening and
provisions for students with reading difficulties, as explained in more detail
in the PIRLS 2006 Encyclopedia. Exhibit 5.17 presents teachers’ reports of
the percent of students needing and receiving remedial reading instruction.
On average internationally, teachers estimated that about one tenth of
the students were likely to have experienced difficulty understanding the
spoken language of the test. Teachers’ estimates were 20 percent or higher
in Indonesia, Iran, Kuwait, Morocco, and South Africa. Internationally on
average, teachers reported that 17 percent of their students were in need of
remedial reading instruction. However, the percentage of students needing
remedial reading instruction exceeded the percentage who received remedial
instruction in nearly every country.
Exhibit 5.18 shows teachers’ reports of the availability of specialists
either in the regular classroom or in a separate remedial reading classroom.
On average internationally, 41 percent of students did not have access to any
type of specialist. However, internationally on average, about 40 percent of
students were in classrooms where a remedial reading specialist was either
sometimes or always available. Also, an equivalent percent had access,
either sometimes or always, to another type of specialist, such as a learning
specialist or speech therapist.
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