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chapter 6: teachers and reading instruction
Exhibit 6.23 shows the percentages of students in 2006 at each level of
the index, together with the average reading achievement associated with
doing that much homework, and differences in the percentages of students
at each level compared to 2001. On average across countries, 24 percent
of students were at the high level, 62 percent at the medium level, and
14 percent at the low level. Percentages of students at the high level ranged
from 1 percent in Austria and Belgium (Flemish and French) to at least
75 percent in the Russian Federation, Romania, and Macedonia. Such a
range is evidence of the diversity of policies and practices of assigning
homework in the primary grades. There were only slight differences in
achievement among the categories, but lower achievement was associated
with high amounts of homework, presumably for remediation, and also
with low amounts of homework.
Trends from 2001 reveal a pervasive decline across countries (20
countries and 1 province) in the percentages of students at the high level
on the reading for homework index, with the greatest decreases in Hungary
(60 percentage points), Sweden (42 points), and Italy (36 points). These
decreases were accompanied by pervasive increases in the percentages of
students in the medium level (15 countries) and, in some cases, the low
level (4 countries).
How Do Teachers Assess Reading Progress?
Teachers use a combination of informal and formal methods to monitor
students’ progress in reading. Typically, the choice of a particular method
is guided by the manner in which the assessment information will be used.
This section reports trends in the emphasis on various sources used by
teachers to monitor students’ progress in reading, how often different types
of assessment are used in the classroom, and for what purpose teachers use
results of classroom assessment.
PIRLS 2006 asked teachers whether they placed a major emphasis,
some emphasis, or little or no emphasis on a variety of sources to monitor
students’ progress in reading. Exhibit 6.24 presents the percentage of
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