Use and Impact of PIRLS
Since the publication of IEA’s Reading Literacy Study (IEA-RL) results in 1994, reading instruction in primary school has received considerable attention in the Danish political arena.107,108 Most municipalities now work with action plans for reading, while initiatives at the local and national level have focused on efforts such as providing continuing education for reading teachers.109 In particular, the reading of expository texts in all subjects has gained considerable attention. Development projects initiated by organizations such as the Danish Union of Teachers (Danmarks Lærerforening) have aimed to enhance the performance of low achieving students.110 Efforts to improve reading teacher training and instruction based on data from previous PIRLS cycles (e.g., the National Centre for Reading and the National Reading Initiative Award) are ongoing.111,112
The degree to which recent initiatives are due to PIRLS, other international and national assessments, and relevant research is difficult to determine. For example, starting with the first Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that focused on reading in 2000, subsequent PISA cycles in 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012, and 2015 have contributed to an ongoing public discussion about the quality of the educational system.113
Assessment of Two Populations in Denmark
Unlike previous PIRLS cycles, Danish students in two grade levels, Grades 3 and 4, were simultaneously assessed in PIRLS 2016. This design enables Denmark to compare the two grades in terms of achievement and background factors for reading development, and in terms of reading development over time. As there is an important progression in reading development from Grade 3 to Grade 4 in which students gradually learn to apply their decoding skills to acquire and use information by reading, the simultaneous assessment of two populations will yield useful information regarding studentsʼ continued learning.114 For example, analyses of how well students in Grades 3 and 4 apply their respective reading comprehension skills could contribute to discussions about possible changes to reading instruction.
Denmarkʼs PIRLS 2011 results indicated national initiatives focused on reading in primary schools have been successful.115 The comparison of these results to those obtained in PIRLS 2006 and IEA’s Reading Literacy Study in 1991 has revealed ongoing progress in reading during this time. It will be interesting to see whether this ongoing progress will be confirmed by PIRLS 2016 results.
Political Initiatives and Pedagogical Debate
Despite PIRLS 2011 results showing that there is not a clear relationship between the amount of time spent on classroom instruction and studentsʼ academic achievement, the Danish Ministry of Education has based parts of its 2014 school reform on the assumption that more teaching hours will improve student achievement.
The comprehensive school reform placed a major change and challenge on schools, teachers, students, and parents alike. The Danish results from the two most recent international assessments on student performance, TIMSS 2015 (IEAʼs Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) and PISA 2015 could not yet manifest an early impact of the school reform on student performance and background factors.116,117 Since the reform was only in action for about half a year when followed by the student assessment in spring 2015, and since it was not implemented comparably at all public schools by then, we hope that the results from PIRLS 2016 will provide more information on this issue.
The concern for improving Danish literacy skills continues. Results from PISA 2012 still reveal an unsatisfactory percentage of Danish students leaving 10 years of schooling with literacy skills that are inadequate to complete a youth education program without support.118,119 The Danish results from PISA 2015 confirm the challenge to reduce the amount of weak readers. While emphasis focused on basic reading development at the time of PIRLS 2011, the pedagogical debate and the actual political initiatives now also concern instruction in reading comprehension, especially instruction in reading informational texts and in gaining experience with reading literature.
Denmarkʼs PIRLS 2011 results frequently have been the subject of discussion by the Danish Union of Teachers and the public. Reports by education journals, newspapers, and other publications have particularly focused on the ongoing improvement of student achievement over time as a result of national reading initiatives and enhanced focus on reading development in public schools; the improvement of low achieving students in reading; and the impact of the number of teaching hours, particularly in Danish language instruction, on student performance.