University of Oslo Workshops June 29-30 Conference July 1-3 ...

1 July
10:30-12:30
Room: AK 2137
Chair: Caroline Liberg
Discussant: Laurence Ogle
Track B PIRLS - Session 1
International comparisons of reading literacy
The Relative Risk-Percentage Equity Index: Measuring Equity in Reading
Achievement Across PIRLS 2006 Countries
Kathleen Trong, TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center, Boston College, USA
This research used data from PIRLS 2006 to explore an approach to measuring equity in
reading achievement internationally at the fourth grade. Relative risk ratios were selected
as a measurement approach and were used to create a composite measure, the Relative
Risk-Percentage (RRP) Equity Index, to compare equity in reading achievement across
countries. This index was used to present the likelihood of scoring below the PIRLS 2006
Low International Benchmark for student groups that were traditionally at risk for low
reading achievement compared to other students. The ‘at risk’ student groups that were the
focus of this study included those with low parental education, who spoke a language other
than the language of instruction, who attended urban or rural schools, and who were boys.
To complement the RRP Equity Index results, the relative likelihood of students scoring
within the lower 20 percent of their country’s reading achievement distribution was also
presented. Overall, having parents with less than secondary education and not speaking the
language of the test before starting school were associated with inequity in reading
achievement in the largest number of PIRLS 2006 countries.
Keywords: equity; relative risk; literacy; PIRLS; reading achievement
National Contexts Influencing Principals’ Interaction with Students: Macro
Geographical Region, Societal Culture and Educational System
Moosung Lee, The Joseph Lau Luen Hung Charitable Trust Asia Pacific Centre for Leadership and
Change, Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong
Philip Hallinger, The Joseph Lau Luen Hung Charitable Trust Asia Pacific Centre for Leadership and
Change, Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong
This paper examines principals’ time use for interaction with individual students.
Specifically, this paper attempts to illuminate how three national-level contexts (i.e. macro
geographical region, societal culture, and educational system) influence principals’ time
allocation for interaction with students when key organizational-level contexts are
controlled for. For the current research, the Progress in International Reading Literacy
Study (PIRLS) 2006 was used. The current research includes 5,297 principals from 34
societies. A two-level hierarchical linear model (HLM) was utilized (Raudenbush & Bryk,
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