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68 chapter 2: performance at international benchmarks
reaching the Advanced International Benchmark (indicated by the red
dots, and shown in the column labeled “Advanced”). Although Exhibit 2.1 is
organized to draw particular attention to the percentage of high-achieving
students in each country and province, it also conveys information about
the distribution of middle and low performers. Since students reaching
a particular benchmark also reached lower benchmarks, the percentages
illustrated graphically, and shown in the table, are cumulative.
In general, the PIRLS 2006 countries with the highest average
achievement had greater percentages of students reaching each benchmark,
and lower achieving countries had smaller percentages. Among the
countries with the highest average achievement, Singapore and the
Russian Federation had nearly one fifth of their students (19%) reaching
the Advanced International Benchmark, about three fifths (58–61%)
reaching the High International Benchmark, 86 to 90 percent reaching the
Intermediate International Benchmark, and nearly all (97–98%) reaching
the Low International Benchmark.
Bulgaria and England as well as three of the Canadian provinces
(Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario) had similar percentages of students
(15–17%) reaching the Advanced International Benchmark, but slightly fewer
students reaching one or another of the lower benchmarks. Luxembourg,
Hong Kong SAR, Italy, and Hungary had somewhat smaller percentages of
students reaching the Advanced International Benchmark (14–15%), but
substantial percentages reaching all of the rest of the benchmarks.
As a point of reference, Exhibit 2.1 provides the median for each of the
international benchmarks. By definition, half the countries (not including
the Canadian provinces) will have a percentage above the median percentage
and half below. The median percentage of students reaching the Advanced
International Benchmark was 7 percent. For students reaching the high
benchmark, the median was 41 percent and for the intermediate benchmark,
it was 76 percent. Quite impressively, the median for the low benchmark
was 94 percent. That is, half the countries (23 after rounding) had more than
94 percent of their students reaching the low level (indicated graphically by