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Grade 4 PIRLS Literacy Highlights Report (12 December 2017)
PIRLS Literacy 2016:
South African Highlights Report
Howie, S.J., Combrinck, C., Roux, K., Tshele, M., Mokoena, G.M., and McLeod Palane, N.
What is PIRLS?
The Progress in International Reading Literacy
Study (PIRLS), under the auspices of the
International Association for the Evaluation for
Educational Achievement (IEA), assesses reading
comprehension and monitors trends in reading
literacy at five-year intervals. PIRLS has assessed
fourth year reading comprehension in over 60
countries since 2001 and set international
benchmarks for reading comprehension. The
PIRLS international scale has a range that is set from
0 to 1 000, a centre point of 500 and a Standard
Deviation of 100 (reading literacy achievement
scale).
Participation in PIRLS cycles
2006: Grade 4 and Grade 5 learners were assessed
in all 11 languages. In Grade 4, a total of 16 073
learners were assessed and in Grade 5, 14 657
learners. The sample was nationally representative
and stratified by language and by province.
2011: Grade 4 learners were assessed in all 11
languages using prePIRLS (now known as PIRLS
Literacy). Grade 5 learners in English and Afrikaans
schools wrote the PIRLS assessment. 15 744 Grade
4 learners participated and 3 515 Grade 5 learners.
The sample was nationally representative but was
only stratified by language.
2016: Grade 4 learners were assessed using PIRLS
Literacy passages and the new passages were
translated into the 10 official languages. The PIRLS
Literacy Study also included PIRLS passages. Grade
5 learners wrote PIRLS (included two PIRLS Literacy
passages) and were assessed in Afrikaans, English
and isiZulu schools. 12 810 Grade 4 learners were
assessed and a total of 5 282 Grade 5 learners. The
sample was nationally representative and stratified
by language and by province.
PIRLS Literacy Objectives
To assess how well South African Grade 4
learners read and to identify possible
associated contextual factors.
To compare the reading literacy of Grade 4 South
African learners both internationally and on a
national level for all 11 languages and nine
provinces.
Achievement Assessments
Each child completes an assessment booklet. Each
booklet has 2 passages:
• Literary (fiction) passage
• Informational (non-fiction) passage
The international versions in US English were
changed to UK English and the English passages
were also contextualised for South Africa. Passages
were translated into the official 10 languages. Each
passage is followed by about 13-15 questions. There
are 12 passages used per study (PIRLS and PIRLS
Literacy), and the passages are spread across 16
different booklets in a Rotated Test Design. Children
seated next to one another answer different booklets.
Learners are tested in the language of learning and
teaching (LoLT) used in Grade 1-3 in their school.
Main data collection for Southern Hemisphere
countries took place at the end of 2015.
Two types of PIRLS
Achievement Assessments
1. PIRLS: passages and items which assess
reading literacy at the international fourth year
level.
2. PIRLS Literacy: passages and items which
assess reading literacy at the lower end of the
reading comprehension scale (easier passages
and items).
Questionnaires (Contextual)
There were five questionnaires:
Learning to Read Survey (parent/guardian/home)
School Questionnaire (principal)
Teacher Questionnaire (classroom)
Learner Questionnaire (student)
Curriculum Questionnaire (national)
© Centre for Evaluation and Assessment, Faculty of Education, University of Pretoria 2
Grade 4 PIRLS Literacy
Attained Sample
A total of 12 810 Grade 4 learners in 293 Schools
were assessed. The learners were representative of
the 11 official Languages and nine Provinces. South
Africa’s participation rate was 94% (after
replacements). The PIRLS samples are drawn to be
representative of the population. The percentages of
learners are reported based on the total weighted
percentage (for example, 13% of learners wrote the
assessment in Gauteng, but they represent 17% of
the Grade 4 population in that province). Below in
Table 1 the spread of languages are shown.
Table 1: Grade 4 test languages
Language
% of population
English
23.0%
isiZulu
21.8%
isiXhosa
15.9%
Sepedi
9.3%
Afrikaans
9.2%
Setswana
7.1%
Sesotho
5.2%
Xitsonga
3.8%
siSwati
2.3%
Tshivenda
2.2%
isiNdebele
0.3%
English (23%), isiZulu (22%) and isiXhosa (16%)
are the three largest language groups represented in
the sample.
Figure 1 shows the percentage from each province
represented in the sample.
Figure 1: Grade 4 Provincial samples
The largest percentage of learners represented
Kwazulu Natal (21%), Eastern Cape (18%)
followed by Gauteng (17%).
Grade 4 Achievement in PIRLS
Literacy 2016
South African results are shown in Figure 2, as
compared to those that wrote the PIRLS Literacy
assessment in the study (see Appendix A for
achievement of all countries).
Figure 2: South African Grade 4 achievement compared to
the PIRLS Literacy countries
South Africa was placed last out of all 50 countries
who participated in PIRLS 2016. South Africa’s
performance was similar to that of Egypt (not
statistically different). The Russian Federation
(highest performing country, see Appendix A),
achieved approximately 260 points more than
South Africa. South Africa at 320 score points is
significantly below the PIRLS centre point of 500.
Grade 4 Performance by Test
Language
As can be seen in Figure 3, the highest performing
test languages were English (372) and Afrikaans
(369).
Figure 3: Grade 4 PIRLS Literacy achievement by language
of test
The lowest performing languages were isiXhosa
(283) and Sepedi (276). The learners writing in
English and Afrikaans achieved significantly
higher scores than the African languages which do
not differ statistically from one another.
18%
16%
13%
8%
10%
6%
9%
KwaZulu Natal
21%
Limpopo
12%
Gauteng
17%
Mpumalanga
8%
Free State
Eastern Cape
North West
Northern Cape
Western Cape
7%
5%
18%
9%
2%
320 330 358 393 428 501
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
South
Africa Egypt Morocco Kuwait Iran Denmark
(3)
Mean Achievement Score
Country
320 372 369 319 319 313 303 301 298 293 283 276
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
Mean Achieveme nt Score
Languages
© Centre for Evaluation and Assessment, Faculty of Education, University of Pretoria 3
Grade 4 Performance in
Nine Provinces
The highest achieving province was Western Cape
(377) and the lowest performing province was
Limpopo (285), as shown below in Figure 4.
Figure 4: Grade 4 PIRLS Literacy achievement by province
A difference of almost 100 points was found between
the two provinces. Both the Eastern Cape and
Limpopo achieved mean scores below 300 points.
There was no significant difference between the
Western Cape and Gauteng’s performance.
Compared to provinces other than Gauteng, the
Western Cape had a significantly higher mean
achievement.
Grade 4 Performance by Gender
A greater percentage of boys (52%) than girls was
represented by the sample as shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5: Grade 4 PIRLS Literacy achievement by gender
At 347 score points, girls achieved 52 score points
higher than boys (295), which was statistically
significant.
South Africa has the second largest achievement
gap (52 points) internationally between boys and
girls, other than Saudi Arabia (where girls scored
more by 65 points).
Grade 4 Performance by School
Location
The mean achievement scores are shown per school
location in Figure 6.
Figure 6: Grade 4 PIRLS Literacy achievement by school
location
Grade 4 learners who attended schools in remote
rural settings (291) achieved significantly below the
learners attending schools in densely populated
urban (384) and suburban areas (393). Learners in
township areas (312) also tended to achieve low
scores, only 21 points higher than learners in remote
areas and more than 100 points below the highest
performing group.
Grade 4 Performance if Learner
spoke Language of Test at Home
In the sample overall, 71% of learners wrote the test
in the language mostly spoken at home (see Figure
7).
Figure 7: Achievement by speaking the language of the test
at home or mostly speaking a different language
Learners writing in the language mainly spoken at
home had lower reading literacy mean scores (315)
than those who mostly wrote in a language different
from what the main language spoken at home (333).
This counterintuitive result is due to those writing in
English, who had higher scores than other languages
but did not mainly speak English at home.
320 377 347 343 326 316 313 306 290 285
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
Mean Achievem ent Score
Provinces
Girl
48%
Boy
52%
347
Score Points
295
Score Points
291 302 312
384 393 417
0
100
200
300
400
500
Remote
rural Small town
or village Township Urban Suburban Medium
city or
large town
Mean Achievement Score
School Location
Same
71%
Different
29%
333
Score Points 315
Score Points
© Centre for Evaluation and Assessment, Faculty of Education, University of Pretoria 4
Table 2 below is the percentage of learners and
parents who said they mainly speak the language of
the test at home and their mean reading literacy
achievement score.
Table 2: Percentage of Grade 4 learners who mainly speak
the language of the test at home and mean achievement
Language
Speak at home %
Mean
English
21%
445
Afrikaans
89%
372
Sesotho
83%
322
isiNdebele
75%
319
siSwati
83%
315
isiZulu
86%
305
Tshivenda
87%
304
Xitsonga
80%
302
Setswana
75%
295
isiXhosa
91%
285
Sepedi
82%
275
In the majority of the languages, most of the learners
(75% to 91%) mostly spoke the language of the test
at home, as is shown in Table 2.
However, English is the opposite of the other
languages. Of the Grade 4 learners who wrote the
test in English, only 21% habitually speak the
language at home. In most of the languages,
learners achieved higher reading literacy scores if
they wrote in their home language, but the difference
was only significant for two languages: English and
Tshivenda.
In Figure 8, the difference in achievement is shown.
Figure 8: Achievement for English and Tshivenda to
compare spoken language at home to speak a different
language
Grade 4 learners who wrote the test in English and
mainly spoke English at home, had a score of 445
which was significantly higher than those who
mainly spoke a different language at home (356).
In Tshivenda, the 87% who spoke the language at
home had a significantly higher mean score (304)
than those who did not speak it (259).
PIRLS International Benchmarks
Four international benchmarks provide information
about what children can do at certain score point
ranges.
Those learners that did not reach the lowest
benchmark (below 400 points): cannot read for
meaning or retrieve basic information from the
text to answer simplistic questions
Low International Benchmark (400 - 474): can
read to locate and retrieve explicit information
Intermediate Benchmark (475 - 549): begin to
interpret and identify obvious reasons for events
in text as well as giving basic explanations for
actions or information
High International Benchmark (550 - 625):
make intricate connections between events in the
text. Identify crucial features and make
generalisations. Interpret complex text and tables
Advanced International Benchmark (625 and
above score points): integrate ideas as well as
evidence across a text to appreciate overall
themes, understand the author’s stance and
interpret significant events
Grade 4 Benchmark Attainment
78% of South African Grade 4 children were not
able to reach the lowest benchmark compared to
4% internationally. In Figure 9, the attainment of
benchmarks for South Africa is shown in comparison
to the international median.
Figure 9: Grade 4 benchmark attainment compared to
international median
Learners who did not reach the lowest benchmark
could not locate explicit information or reproduce
information from a text at the end of Grade 4. A total
of 0.2% of South African learners did attain the
Advanced Benchmark (too small to represent on
the graph) compared to 10% internationally.
445
304
356
259
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
English Tshivenda
Mean Achievement Score
Speak at home Different home langauge
78%
4%
15%
14%
6%
35%
2%
37% 10%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
South Africa
International
Percentage of Learners
Did not reach Low Benchmark Intermediate Benchmark
High Benchmark Advanced Benchmark
© Centre for Evaluation and Assessment, Faculty of Education, University of Pretoria 5
Benchmarks by Test Languages
More than 80% of learners who wrote in one of the
nine African languages did not reach the Low
Benchmark, as can be seen in Table 3.
Table 3: Did not reach and reached the Low Benchmark by
test language cumulative percentages
Did not
Reach
Reached
Low Benchmark
Sepedi
93%
7%
Setswana
90%
10%
Tshivenda
89%
11%
isiXhosa
88%
12%
Xitsonga
88%
12%
isiZulu
87%
13%
isiNdebele
87%
13%
siSwati
84%
16%
Sesotho
82%
18%
English
57%
43%
Afrikaans
56%
44%
The disparity between those who wrote in an African
language is very large compared to learners who
wrote in English or Afrikaans. More than half the
learners who completed the assessment in English
(57%) or Afrikaans (56%) were unable to attain the
Low Benchmark.
Benchmarks reached
per Province
In every province, more than 50% of children were
unable to reach the Low Benchmark and lack basic
literacy skills by the end of Grade 4. Table 4 shows
the benchmark attainment per province.
Table 4: Grade 4 Benchmark attainment by province
Did Not
Reach
Low
Benchmark
Intermediate
Benchmark
High
Benchmark
Advanced
Benchmark
Limpopo
90.8%
9.2%
1.0%
0.1%
0.0%
Eastern Cape
84.6%
15.4%
4.6%
0.8%
0.1%
Mpumalanga
82.9%
17.1%
4.4%
0.7%
0.1%
KwaZulu Natal
81.6%
18.4%
3.9%
0.7%
0.1%
Northern Cape
80.6%
19.4%
6.5%
0.9%
0.1%
North West
78.3%
21.7%
7.3%
1.9%
0.0%
Free State
73.4%
26.6%
8.7%
2.0%
0.1%
Gauteng
68.5%
31.5%
14.7%
4.7%
0.7%
Western Cape
55.0%
45.0%
19.0%
5.2%
0.6%
South Africa
77.9%
22.1%
7.5%
1.9%
0.2%
NOTE: The table should be read as follows: Don’t not reach together with Low benchmark
represent the 100% of learners for each province. Learners reaching Intermediate, High and
Advanced benchmark are included in the figure of Low benchmark as i n order to reach the
higher benchmarks, the Low benchmark is assumed.
In Limpopo, 91% of learners did not reach the
Lowest Benchmark. Western Cape had the most
reaching it (45%) followed by Gauteng (32%).
Grade 4 Benchmark Attainment
by Gender
A very high percentage (84%) of boys did not reach
the lowest benchmark (see Table 5).
Table 5: Percentage of Grade 4 learners who Did not reach
and Reached Benchmarks by gender
Did not
Reach
Reached
Low Benchmark
Boys
84%
16%
Girls
72%
28%
Boys were significantly less likely to reach the Low
Benchmark as well as the higher benchmarks.
5-year National Trend in
PIRLS Cycles: 2011-2016
Trend analysis of achievement results is possible
between the 2011 and 2016 participation for PIRLS
and PIRLS Literacy (for more information see Howie,
et al., 2017). In the 2006 cycle, the South African
Grade 4 PIRLS mean scores were very low and
results from the African languages could not be
utilised. However, the Afrikaans and English Grade 4
measurements from 2006 were sufficiently robust
and can be used for trend comparisons.
Comparisons possible for Grade 4:
2011 and 2016 all 11 languages
2006, 2011 and 2016 Afrikaans and English
In Figure 10, the performance in 2011 and 2016 can
be seen.
Figure 10: South African Grade 4 PIRLS Literacy mean
achievement scores for 2011 and 2016 all languages
There is no statistically significant difference
between the two rounds of participation for 2011
(323) and 2016 (320).
323 320
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
2011 2016
Mean Achievement Score
Cycle of PIRLS
© Centre for Evaluation and Assessment, Faculty of Education, University of Pretoria 6
10-year Trend in PIRLS cycles:
Grade 4 Afrikaans and English
There were no significant differences for learners
writing in Afrikaans and English in the 10 years
across three cycles (see Figure 11).
Figure 11: Grade 4 Afrikaans and English achievement in
2006, 2011 and 2016
Afrikaans: The 2006 and 2016 cycles were not
significantly different from one another, indicating no
change over 10 years. English: There was no
significant difference in the achievement between
2006 and 2016 indicating no change over 10 years.
Even though the 2016 score is lower, it is not
statistically significant.
The combined English and Afrikaans results are
shown in Figure 12.
Figure 12: Grade 4 Eng/Afr combined scores across three
cycles
The combined average of the two languages in 2016
(371) and 2011 (401) are significantly higher than
the average of 2006 (334). The 2016 performance
was significantly lower than the 2011 performance.
Trends in 11 Languages between
2011 and 2016
In Table 6, the mean achievement scores are shown
per language for 2011 and 2016. Out of the 11 official
languages, significant improvements were
discovered in five languages between the cycles
(marked in green with asterisk). isiNdebele, Sepedi,
Sesotho, Tshivenda and Xitsonga had statistically
higher achievement in 2016 compared to 2011.
These five languages started from a very low base in
2011.
Table 6: Grade 4 participation in PIRLS cycles the mean
scores per language
2011
2016
English
403
372
Afrikaans
397
369
Sesotho*
283
319
isiNdebele*
295
319
siSwati
313
312
isiZulu
303
303
Xitsonga*
262
301
Tshivenda*
249
298
Setswana
286
293
isiXhosa
287
283
Sepedi*
241
276
Trends by Gender in Cycles
Within each cycle, the girls achieved significantly
higher scores than the boys (see Figure 13).
Figure 13: Gender achievement for Grade 4 per PIRLS
cycle
There was no significant difference for each gender
between 2011 and 2016.
Grade 4 Benchmark Attainment
per PIRLS Cycle
In 2016, fewer learners (22% compared to 24%
previously) overall were able to attain the
International Benchmarks as can be seen in Figure
14.
Advanced Benchmark: 0.5% reached in 2011 and 0.2% reached in 2016
Figure 14: South African Grade 4 PIRLS Literacy
attainment of benchmarks per PIRLS cycle
There was a drop at the top of the distribution. Only
1.9% reached the top two benchmarks (Advanced
and High Benchmarks) in 2016 compared to 3.2% in
2011. Fewer learners attained the Low Benchmark.
336 333
397 404
369 372
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
Afrikaans English
Mean Achievement Sc ore
Language
2006 2011 2016
334
401 371
250
300
350
400
450
500
2006 2011 2016
Mean Achievement Score Eng/Afr
Participation in PIRLS
341 347
307
295
260
270
280
290
300
310
320
330
340
350
360
2011 2016
Mean Score Achievement
Girls Boys
76%
78%
14%
15%
7%
6%
3%
2%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
2011
2016
Percentage of Learners
Did not reach Low Benchmark Intermediate Benchmark
High Benchmark Advanced benchmark
© Centre for Evaluation and Assessment, Faculty of Education, University of Pretoria 7
Background Factors associated
with Achievement
Selected variables from the School, Teacher and
Home Questionnaires were analysed and are
reported below. The average class size was 45
learners per Grade 4 class in South Africa, an
increase from 40 in 2011.
In Figure 15, the school locations are shown. Most of
the learners attended schools in remote rural areas
(39%) and small towns or villages (20%) as well as
townships (18%).
Figure 15: School location of Grade 4 learners
Only 3% of learners attended schools in medium-
sized cities or small towns.
The average age of the Grade 4 learners sampled in
South Africa was 10.6 years, one of oldest countries
and above the international average of 10.2 years.
School Environment
In Figure 16, the school reports on the economic
background of learners is shown as well as
associated achievement.
Figure 16: Grade 4 learner economic background
The Principals reported that as many as 75% of
learners come from disadvantaged backgrounds.
There is a large, significant difference in
achievement between those learners from
disadvantaged backgrounds (309) and from more
affluent backgrounds (428).
The majority (94%) of Grade 4 learners attended
schools with resource shortages affecting their
instruction to some extent and this was related to
achievement (Figure 17).
Figure 17: Grade 4 learner instruction affected by resource
shortages in PIRLS Literacy 2016
Schools not being affected by resource shortages
had the highest mean score at 410 score points.
According to the school principals, most (62%)
schools do not have a school library as depicted in
Figure 18.
Figure 18: School libraries reported in Grade 4 PIRLS
Literacy study
Grade 4 learners, on average, Achieved lower
scores (301) when they attended schools with no
school library.
The frequency of bullying reported by the Grade 4
learners is shown in Figure 19.
Remote
rural
39%
Small
town
or village
20%
Township
18%
Urban
Densely
populated
11%
Suburban
9%
Medium
city/
town
3%
9%
16%
75%
More Affluent
Not Affluent or
Disadvantaged
More
Disadvantaged
310
Score Points
428
Score Points
309
Score Points
4%
89%
6% Not affected
Somewhat affected
Affected a lot
314
Score Points
410
Score Points
302
Score Points
301
Score Points
349
Score Points
© Centre for Evaluation and Assessment, Faculty of Education, University of Pretoria 8
Figure 19: Frequency of bullying reported by Grade 4
learners in PIRLS Literacy 2016 study
Those learners (42%), who reported weekly
bullying, achieved on average 50 points less than
those almost never bullied (299 compared to 349
points respectively).
Figure 20 below show the frequency of problems
experienced with school discipline and safety.
Figure 20: Grade 4 school discipline and safety
Learners achieving the highest mean score of 348
attended schools with hardly any problems. Grade
4 learners in schools where the principals reported
moderate to severe problems had the lowest mean
achievement (295).
In Figure 21, principals’ reporting of problems with
teacher behaviour is shown.
Figure 21: Problems with teacher behaviour
A total of 43% of Grade 4 learners attended schools
where the principals reported that there were Hardly
Any Problems with the teachers and they achieved
40 points more than those in schools (55%) with
minor to moderate problems.
Absenteeism of teachers and failure to complete
the curriculum were problematic in 60% of schools
and arriving late for school in 46% of schools.
Classroom Contextual Factors
In Figure 22, the teachers of Grade 4 learners in the
PIRLS Literacy 2016 study reported on their highest
formal qualifications.
Figure 22: Formal qualifications as reported by the teachers
of Grade 4 learners
Seven percent of learners were taught by teachers
without the minimum formal qualifications for
teaching. The largest group of learners (45%) are
taught by teachers with College of Education
qualifications.
Forty percent of learners are taught by teachers with
20 or more years of teaching experience (Figure
23). The average experience dropped from 17 years
in 2011 to 15 years in 2016.
Figure 23: Teacher years of experience in PIRLS Literacy
2016
There is no clear association between the formal
qualifications and achievement.
22%
35%
42% Almost Never
About Monthly
About Weekly
332
Score Points
349
Score Points
299
Score Points
18%
55%
27% Hardly Any Problems
Minor Problems
Moderate to Severe
Problems
319
Score Points
348
Score Points
295
Score Points
43%
55%
2%
Hardly Any Problems
Minor to Moderate
Problem
Serious Problem
270
Score Points 344
Score Points
304
Score Points
1% 6%
45%
30%
18%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Did not
complete Grade
12
Grade 12 Post-secondary Bachelors
degree Postgraduate
degree
Percentage of Teachers
Highest Formal Qualification
23%
13%
24%
40% 20 Years or More
At Least 10 but Less than 20 Years
At Least 5 but Less than 10 Years
Less than 5 Years
325
Score Points
315
Score Points
313
Score Points
322
Score Points
© Centre for Evaluation and Assessment, Faculty of Education, University of Pretoria 9
In Figure 24, the age categories of teachers are
shown for the Grade 4 PIRLS Literacy 2016 study.
Figure 24: Grade 4 learners taught by teachers in different
age categories
Most learners (82%) are taught by teachers older
than 40 years of age. Only 3% of the learners were
taught by teachers younger than 25 years old. Only
5% of the learners were taught by teachers 60 years
or older.
Figure 25 shows the job satisfaction reported by the
teachers of Grade 4 learners.
Figure 25: Grade 4 teacher job satisfaction
Overall, most of the Grade 4 learners were taught by
teachers who were very satisfied with their career
(65%). Only 7% of learners were taught by teachers
who were less than satisfied with their teaching
career and these learners achieved the highest
mean score (376 points).
Learners were asked how much they enjoy reading
activities, and their responses and associated
reading literacy mean scores are shown in Figure 26.
More than half (55%) of learners said they like
reading and their mean achievement score was 340
score points. This is in comparison to those who do
not like reading (9%) and who obtained the lowest
achievement (282 points).
In Figure 26 below, Grade 4 learner enjoyment of
reading with associated mean scores is displayed.
Figure 26: Grade 4 learner enjoyment of reading
Figure 27 shows how often learners said they were
absent from school.
Figure 27: Grade 4 Learner absenteeism and achievement
A greater number of South African learners were
absent more often than their peers internationally.
On average, 37% of learners said they were absent
from school at least once a week or every two
weeks, and achieved considerably less than
learners who were never or almost never absent
(51%) from school.
In Table 7, the percentage of Grade 4 learners in
classes with classroom libraries are shown as well
as their associated mean achievement.
Table 7: Classroom libraries
Response
%
Mean
Yes
54%
332
No
46%
308
A total of 54% of Grade 4 learners were in classes
which have a classroom library and those learners
had a higher mean score at 332 score points.
40–49
Years Old
49%
50–59
Years Old
28%
25–29
Years Old
10%
30–39
Years Old
6%
60 or
Older
5%
Under
25
3%
65%
28%
7% Very Satisfied
Somewhat Satisfied
Less than Satisfied
376
Score points 324
Score points
297
Score points
9%
36%
55% Like Reading
Somewhat Like Reading
Do Not Like Reading
302
Score Points
340
Score Points
282
Score Points
28%
9%
12%
51% Never or almost never
Once a month
Once every two weeks
Once a week
321
Score Points
342
Score Points
299
Score Points
276
Score Points
© Centre for Evaluation and Assessment, Faculty of Education, University of Pretoria 10
The Home Environment
Parents
1
were asked how much they enjoyed
reading (see Figure 28).
Figure 28: Parents of Grade 4 learners report enjoyment of
reading
The quarter of learners who had parents that very
much like reading achieved the highest mean score
at 359 points in contrast to those whose parents do
not like reading and these learners achieved the
lowest score (307).
Figure 29 shows the frequency of homework Grade
4 learners received, according to their parents or
guardians.
Figure 29: Grade 4 learners with homework according to
parents
The 38% of Grade 4 learners who received
homework daily achieved the highest score. Overall,
there is a consistent positive relationship between
frequency of homework and higher reading scores.
When parents often read stories, sang songs,
played with their child and talked to them before
the child started school, learners achieved higher
mean scores (as shown in Figure 30).
Grade 4 Learners who had parents who never or
almost never did any early literacy activities had the
lowest mean score (269 points).
1
In PIRLS South Africa, the term “parent” is inclusive of
guardians or caregivers for the children that were tested.
Figure 30: Early literacy activities and learner reading
achievement
Most Grade 4 learners attended a preschool (85%)
and achieved higher mean scores (333 points) than
those who did not attend (see Figure 31).
Figure 31: Percentage of Grade 4 learners who attended
preschool and learner achievement
Having resources in the home such as books,
child’s own room, internet access, better-educated
parents and higher-level occupations is strongly
associated with learner reading literacy achievement
(see Figure 32).
Figure 32: Home resources for learning and learner
achievement
The 1% of learners who came from homes with many
resources achieved scores at the international centre
point (500 points). Most learners (70%) came from
homes with some resources.
13%
63%
24% Very much like reading
Somewhat like reading
Do not like reading
322
Score points
359
Score points
307
Score points
4%
8%
24% 26% 38%
253 294 313 344 362
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
My child
does
not have
homework
Less than
once a
week
1 or 2 times
a week 3 or 4 times
a week Every day
Mean Achievement Score
% of parents reporting learner homework
Homework
34%
62%
4% Often
Sometimes
Never or almost never
341
Score points
269
Score points
327
Score points
15%
85%
Did Not Attend
Preschool
Attended Preschool
333
Score points
311
Score points
1%
70%
29% Many resources
Some resources
Few resources
354
Score points
295
Score points
500
Score points
© Centre for Evaluation and Assessment, Faculty of Education, University of Pretoria 11
Key findings of PIRLS Literacy
Grade 4 Study
South Africa was the lowest performing country
(mean score of 320) out of 50 countries in the
PIRLS 2016 study. On the PIRLS scale,
approximately 40 score points are equal to a year’s
schooling. This means that South Africa may be six
years behind the top performing countries. There
was no change (no statistical difference) overall in
the score between PIRLS 2011 and PIRLS 2016.
Around 78% of South African Grade 4 learners do
not reach the international benchmarks and therefore
do not have basic reading skills by the end of the
Grade 4 school year, in contrast to only 4% of
learners internationally.
Learners writing in African languages attained the
lowest mean scores, significantly lower than those
writing in Afrikaans and English The lowest
performing language was Sepedi below 300.
Between 2011 and 2016 although there is no
overall difference, there is a statistical difference
and improvement in performance for five African
languages (isiNdebele, Sepedi, Sesotho, Tshivenda
and Xitsonga languages). However, these
languages also started from a very low base in 2011.
Learners writing in Afrikaans and English had no
significant difference in achievement between
2006 and 2016 respectively. There was also no
significant difference between Afrikaans and English
achievement. However, if the Afrikaans and English
scores are combined significant differences can be
found, for example that the 2016 score is significantly
higher than that of 2006. More than 80% of learners
who were tested in an African language did not
reach the Low Benchmark (could not read for
meaning). In Sepedi and Setswana, 90% or more
could not read for meaning. More than half of the
learners writing in Afrikaans and English attained
the Low Benchmark, even though this was low by
international standards. Fewer learners in 2016
attained the benchmarks. There was also a drop at
the top with fewer learners reaching the High
Benchmark and the Advanced Benchmark.
The Western Cape, Free State and Gauteng
achieved the three highest scores in the PIRLS
Literacy 2016 study, although well below the
international average of 500.The Eastern Cape and
Limpopo were the lowest performing provinces.
Grade 4 girls performed significantly better (more
than 50 points) than boys in PIRLS Literacy 2016
and South Africa had the second largest gender gap
internationally. 84% of boys could not reach the
Low Benchmark, compared to 72% of girls. Whilst
in each cycle of PIRLS, girls performed significantly
better than boys, there was no significant difference
for girls or for boys between their 2011 and 2016
achievement.
Learners living in remote rural areas, small towns
or villages and townships had the lowest reading
literacy achievement (between 291 and 312 points).
Urban, suburban and medium or large towns had
higher achievement (up to 417 points).
Most Grade 4 learners spoke the language of the
test at home. Contrary to other languages, only 21%
of Grade 4 Learners in English schools said they
speak English at home (and achieved about 90
points more than those who spoke a different
language at home).
The school climate factors that were analysed
revealed that three-quarters of Grade 4 learners
came from economically disadvantaged
backgrounds whilst learners from affluent
backgrounds attained significantly higher reading
literacy achievement. Learners in schools not
affected by resource shortages achieved almost 100
points more than those affected. Almost two-thirds
of Grade 4 learners are in schools (62%) which do
not have school libraries, and they scored
significantly lower scores than those in schools with
libraries. As many as 42% of Grade 4 learners
reported being bullied weekly and their associated
reading literacy scores were much lower than those
not as frequently bullied. Closely related to this is the
fact that a quarter of the learners attended schools
where principals said school discipline and safety
were moderate to severely problematic. More than
half the learners were in schools where the principals
reported minor to moderate problems with
teacher behaviour (absenteeism, failure to complete
the curriculum, arriving late).
There were considerable differences in classroom
conditions. Despite the policy stipulating 40 learners
in a class, South African Grade 4 class sizes are
on average 45 learners and this has grown
substantially over the past 10 years and is
negatively correlated with achievement. South Africa
on average had experienced teachers (15 years of
experience). Half of the teachers were in the 40 to
49-age group. Most teachers were very satisfied or
somewhat satisfied with their teaching profession.
About half of the classrooms (54%) have libraries
and more than half of learners enjoy reading and
less than 10% do not enjoy reading at all. Nearly one
in three learners are absent from school at least
once a week, and their associated reading literacy
scores were much lower than those who were never
or almost never absent.
Parents are less positive about reading in general
but children of parents who do enjoy reading
achieve higher scores. More than a third of learners
received homework daily and their reading literacy
scores were higher than those who did not receive
homework. The one percent of Grade 4 learners
© Centre for Evaluation and Assessment, Faculty of Education, University of Pretoria 12
who came from homes with more resources at home
had the highest reading literacy achievement and
comparable to the international average. Learners
whose parents did early reading literacy activities
with their child before school, tended to achieve
much higher reading literacy scores.
Main Recommendations of
PIRLS Literacy 2016 (Grade 4)
Whist the full PIRLS Literacy report (Howie et al.,
2017) elaborates on recommendations more in-
depth, a few recommendations are summarised:
1. Strengthen teaching of reading literacy and
training of pedagogical content knowledge of
teachers across all languages in the Foundation
Phase and especially African languages.
2. Increase proportion of time spent on reading
in Foundation and Intermediate phases in the
curriculum as well as encourage extra-mural
reading and reading habits.
3. Initiate Pre-primary Campaigns for parents
and teachers and emphasise importance of
Early Literacy activities and training at pre-
primary level.
4. Urgently reduce class sizes to policy
stipulations and stop the “creep” that is occuring
across all schools and provinces.
5. Increase efforts to attract younger quality
candidates into teaching to address attrition.
6. Target interventions for high-risk populations
including boys, learners living in remote rural
areas, townships and those learning in African
langauges. Limpopo, the Eastern Cape and
Northern Cape provinces need additional
support.
7. Provide and increase school resources such
as school libraries and classroom libraries,
especially in areas where performance is poor.
8. Review interventions on ICT provision in
primary schools and increase effective and
sustainable access to ICT and utilisation thereof
in education.
9. An intervention is needed to reduce teacher
and learner abseenteism at primary schools.
10. Increase and implement programmes
addressing bullying at schools.
11. Campaign for greater parental involvement in
school and learner activities.
How to reference this report:
Howie, S.J., Combrinck, C., Roux, K., Tshele, M., Mokoena,
G.M., & McLeod Palane, N. (2017). PIRLS LITERACY
2016: South African Highlights Report. Pretoria: Centre for
Evaluation and Assessment.
References of Main Country Report:
Howie, S.J., Combrinck, C., Roux, K., Tshele, M., Mokoena,
G.M., & McLeod Palane, N. (2017). PIRLS Literacy 2016
Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2016:
South African Children’s Literacy Achievement. Pretoria:
Centre for Evaluation and Assessment.
APPENDIX A:
ACHIEVEMENT OF PIRLS 2016
COUNTRIES
PIRLS 2016 in South Africa was funded
by the Department of Basic Education
and the University of Pretoria and the
CEA gratefully acknowledges their
support.
Countr y Reading Achieve ment Distr ibution
Russian Federation 581 (2,2) h
3
Singapore 576 (3,2) h
2 †
Hong Kong SAR 569 (2,7) h
Ireland 567 (2,5) h
Finland 566 (1,8) h
Poland 565 (2,1) h
Northern Ireland 565 (2,2) h
Norway ( 5) 559 (2,3) h
Chinese Taipei 559 (2,0) h
England 559 (1,9) h
2
Latvia 558 (1,7) h
Sweden 555 (2,4) h
Hungary 554 (2,9) h
Bulgaria 552 (4,2) h
†
United States 549 (3,1) h
Lithuania 548 (2,6) h
Italy 548 (2,2) h
2
Denmark 547 (2,1) h
Macao SAR 546 (1,0) h
†
Netherlands 545 (1,7) h
Australia 544 (2,5) h
Czech Republic 543 (2,1) h
1 2
Canada 543 (1,8) h
Slovenia 542 (2,0) h
2
Austria 541 (2,4) h
Germany 537 (3,2) h
Kazakhstan 536 (2,5) h
Slovak Republic 535 (3,1) h
3
Israel 530 (2,5) h
2
Portugal 528 (2,3) h
Spain 528 (1,7) h
Belgium (Flemish) 525 (1,9) h
New Zealand 523 (2,2) h
France 511 (2,2) h
PIRLS Scale Centerpoint 500
2
Belgium (French) 497 (2,6)
Chile 494 (2,5) i
1
Georgia 488 (2,8) i
Trinidad and Tobago 479 (3,3) i
Azerbaijan 472 (4,2) i
2
Malta 452 (1,8) i
United Arab Emirates 450 (3,2) i
Bahrain 446 (2,3) i
Qatar 442 (1,8) i
Saudi Arabia 430 (4,2) i
Iran, Islamic Rep. of 428 (4,0) i
Oman 418 (3,3) i
Kuwait 393 (4,1) i
Morocco 358 (3,9) i
Egypt 330 (5,6) i
South Africa 320 (4,4) i
h
i
Average
Scale Score
