PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) assesses the reading achievement of Fourth-class pupils. First conducted in 2001, PIRLS takes place every five years. Ireland participated for the first time in PIRLS in 2011 and also took part in 2016. The next cycle of PIRLS takes place in 2021, with a field trial taking place in spring 2020. Depending on the outcomes of the field trial, it is envisaged that the 2021 PIRLS assessment will be entirely computer-based. This builds on PIRLS 2016, which included both paper-based and digital components in the assessment. The results for PIRLS 2021 will be published at the end of 2022.
PIRLS is a project of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), and is managed at an international level by the International Study Center in Boston College. Within each participating country, a National Research Centre manages the study. In Ireland, this role is filled by the Educational Research Centre. The Centre is supported in this work by a National Advisory Committee, chaired by the Department of Education and Skills, and with representatives from the main education stakeholders.
A major purpose of PIRLS is to provide background information that can be used to improve teaching and learning. For example, the study collects detailed information about curriculum and curriculum implementation, instructional practices, and school resources. The assessment is based on comprehensive frameworks developed collaboratively with the participating countries. The frameworks specify in some detail the knowledge, skills, and understandings to be assessed.
All international publications on PIRLS can be found at http://timssandpirls.bc.edu/.
The IEA is also responsible for TIMSS (Trends in Mathematics and Science Study). In 2011, the cycles for PIRLS and TIMSS coincided for the first time, giving countries the opportunity to take part in one or both assessments. Of the 49 countries took part in PIRLS in 2011, 34 – including Ireland – also took part in TIMSS.
The PIRLS 2016 report for Ireland (Eivers, Gilleece & Delaney, 2017) and flyer of key findings were published in late 2017.
In 2018, thematic reports on PIRLS 2016 followed: an analysis of Irish pupils’ performance on the paper and digital components of the assessment (Eivers & Delaney, 2018), and characteristics associated with paper and online reading (Gilleece & Eivers, 2018).
The initial Irish report on the 2011 TIMSS and PIRLS cycles was published in December 2012 (Eivers & Clerkin, 2012) and a volume of thematic analyses of the Irish TIMSS and PIRLS data was published in 2013 (Eivers & Clerkin, 2013).
