Hong Kong slips to third place in reading literacy ranking, behind Russia and Singapore
HKU professor says Hong Kong not improving in terms of parents’ reading interests and home education resources
Hong Kong has slipped to third place in an international reading literacy ranking, after being overtaken by Russia and Singapore.
In the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2016, released this week, the city was ranked third, with an average score of 569, behind Russia with 581 and Singapore with 576.
The city’s average score for the latest ranking is two points lower than for the previous edition in 2011, in which Hong Kong was placed first.
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The survey, which assesses the reading comprehension level of Primary Four pupils worldwide, looked at 50 countries and regions. In Hong Kong, a total of 139 primary schools were selected to participate in the study, with at least one Primary Four class in each selected at random. A total of 3,533 pupils took part.
Two comprehension passages in Chinese – one informative and one literary – were used as test materials.
The pupils, and 3,499 parents, 159 Chinese language teachers and 138 principals from the participating schools, also answered questionnaires about students’ attitudes towards reading, home and school environments, curriculum and pedagogy.
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While the slight dip in the average score for Hong Kong was statistically insignificant, Professor Tse Shek-kam from the University of Hong Kong’s faculty of education and who led the investigation in the city, warned of stagnation.