RESULTS FROM PIRLS 2006

· 4,150 B.C. Grade four students from 148 schools took part in PIRLS 2006.

· Around the world, 215,000 students from 40 countries took the test.

Top Ten Countries or Jurisdictions	Score
Russian Federation	565
Hong Kong SAR	564
Canada, Alberta	560
Singapore	558
Canada, British Columbia	558
Luxembourg	557
Canada, Ontario	555
Italy	551
Hungary	551
Sweden	549

· B.C., Alberta and Ontario were singled out as three of the highest scoring jurisdictions in the world.

· The average score for all countries and jurisdictions was 500.

· Sixteen percent of B.C. students achieved the highest of four reading levels on the test, compared to the international average of seven percent.

· Twelve percent of B.C. students scored at the lowest level compared to the international average of 24 percent.

· B.C. was recognized as having one of the smallest differences between male and female student achievement of any jurisdiction in the world. Girls generally score higher on reading tests than boys, and in many countries by a wide margin.

· The PIRLS survey questions identified B.C. students as having a high level of reading for fun and the study noted that this was a factor in reading success.

· Fifty-three percent of the B.C. students read for pleasure every day or almost every day. Only the Russian Federation did better on this measure (58 per cent).

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Media contact:	Lara Perzoff Ministry of Education 250 356-5963 250 920-9040 (cell)

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