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Source:
www.moe.gov.sg |
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SINGAPORE’S PERFORMANCE IN
THE PROGRESS IN INTERNATIONAL READING LITERACY STUDY (PIRLS) 2006 |
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Singapore has emerged 4th among 45 education
systems which participated in the Progress in International Reading
Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2006, an improvement from rank 15th in PIRLS
2001. |
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Participants could select the
language(s) to conduct the tests in. Twelve education systems, including
Singapore, chose English as the language medium.1 |
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The findings from the study, which was
conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of
Educational Achievement (IEA), affirm that Singapore’s education system
provides a sound foundation for the development of reading literacy in
English for both functional use and literary experience. |
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The key factors contributing to Singapore’s good
performance in PIRLS 2006 include:
• opportunities for our pupils to gain
exposure to the English language from young;
• the educational resources available in
school and the school climate;
• our English Language curriculum; and
• qualifications of our primary school
teachers. |
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The PIRLS 2006 results were released by the
IEA on 28 Nov 20072. A representative sample of our pupils –
7000 Primary 4 pupils from all primary schools in Singapore – took part
in the study in October 2005. Background information on the study is
found in Annex A. |
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KEY FINDINGS |
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Our pupils have done well in PIRLS 2006,
despite the fact that many come from a non-English speaking background. |
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Singapore ranked 4th among 45 education
systems which participated in PIRLS 2006, an improvement from rank 15th
in PIRLS 2001 (see Table 1, Annex B). Singapore’s average score also
improved from 528 in 2001 to 558 in 2006. |
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In addition, Singapore ranked top among the
education systems in which pupils took their tests solely in English3. |
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When compared with education systems where
English was one of the test languages, Singapore came in second after
Canada (Alberta) but ranked higher than the other Canadian provinces,
United States, England, New Zealand and Scotland (see Table 2, Annex B) |
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Singapore pupils showed significant
improvement across all ability groups between PIRLS 2001 and PIRLS 2006,
with the bottom 5% of our students showing the greatest improvement (see
Table 3, Annex B). |
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Our top pupils performed very well. Among
education systems which tested in English, Singapore had the second
highest achievement score at the 95th percentile (i.e. the top 5% of our
students), slightly below England. |
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CONTRIBUTING FACTORS |
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(A) More Opportunities for Exposure to
the English Language from Young and Conducive Learning Environment |
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Our pupils are better prepared for formal reading
instruction before they begin primary school:
• A greater proportion of our pupils
(84%) received more than two years of pre-primary education in PIRLS
2006 compared to PIRLS 2001 (55%). This was also higher than the 2006
international average of 60%.
•
The proportion of our pupils whose
predominant home language is English increased from 37% in 2001 to 42%
in 20054. In PIRLS 2006, 21% of our sampled pupils reported
that they always speak
English at home. This group of pupils had higher average reading
achievement than pupils who always spoke their test language in all
other education systems. |
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Singapore pupils continue to be supported
through primary schools that provided a conducive environment for
learning English. More of them were in primary schools that were
well-resourced (73%) and had a positive school climate (66%), compared
to the international average (52% and 37% respectively). |
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(B) Implementation of a New English
Language Curriculum and Better Qualified Teachers |
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The PIRLS 2006 findings also indicate that our policies
on the English Language curriculum and teacher training are progressing
in the right direction:
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The
English Language Syllabus 2001 was implemented
from 2001 and was used by pupils who participated in PIRLS 2006. This
syllabus strongly emphasises language use through the study of a wide
range of text types organised around three areas: (i) language for
information, (ii) language for literary response and expression, and
(iii) language for social interaction. The new syllabus also places
greater emphasis on reading skills and strategies than the previous one.
•
Between 2000 and 2002, nationwide training
workshops were conducted to prepare all English Language teachers to
teach the new syllabus. There were also more primary school teachers
with university qualifications in 2005 (47%) compared to 2001 (32%)5. |
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CONCLUSION |
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Reading literacy is the foundation for
learning all subjects and is one of the most important abilities that
pupils should acquire as they progress through their early school years. |
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The PIRLS 2006 results affirm that
Singapore’s approach to the teaching of English Language is progressing
in the right direction. Schools and parents should continue to work in
close partnership to foster good reading habits in our pupils, including
providing a conducive home environment for reading. |
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The Ministry of Education will continue its
efforts in enhancing the primary school experience to ensure that our
pupils are equipped with the literacy skills that they need to
participate fully in the larger society. |
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More..... |
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1 Most educational systems chose their native
language(s), e.g. Russian for the Russian Federation, Modern
Standard Chinese for Hong Kong SAR and English/French for Canada
(Alberta).
2 The PIRLS 2006 International Report is available
on the PIRLS website,
http://pirls.bc.edu.
3 United States, England, Scotland, Trinidad and
Tobago
4 Source: Pupil Data Bank, Ministry of Education,
Singapore.
5 Source: Ministry of Education, Singapore.
Education Statistics Digest 2001 and 2006. |
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Source:
www.moe.gov.sg Press Release
29 Nov 2007 |
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FrontPage Edition: Thu 29 November 2007
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