Explaining the remarkable improvement in the reading achievement of Hong Kong Grade 4 students in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Studies between 2001 and 2011

Purpose: The reading achievement of Hong Kong Grade 4 students has risen steadily since 2001 when the IEA initiated the PIRLS survey, a five-yearly assessment survey of the reading achievement of primary Grade 4 students worldwide. Whereas Hong Kong students in the 2001 PIRLS assessment survey were ranked 14th out of the 35 participating regions and countries, they came top of the list in 2011 out of the 45 participating regions and countries. The present study aimed to examine factors in relation to the remarkable improvement made by Hong Kong students in the PIRLS assessment between 2001 and 2011.
Method: The Hong Kong portion of data from the PIRLS 2001 and 2011, a large-scale international assessment which was designed to measure fourth-grade students' reading literacy and its home, school and national contexts, were used for secondary analysis in this study. Reading scores from 8925 students (5050 from the 2001 sample and 3875 from the 2011 sample) and indexes and variables derived from the student and home questionnaires were used for multilevel analysis.
Results: Results of multi-group path analysis revealed that in both the 2001 and 2011 cycles, students' and parents' reading attitudes and home literacy environment had a direct influence on the students’ reading achievement. Parents' reading attitudes contributed to students’ reading achievement indirectly as it promoted them to provide supportive home literacy environments and a home ethos that conveyed high expectations. The effect of students' reading attitudes on reading achievement was influenced by reading practice. Importantly, the improved home literacy environment arising from parents' improved attitudes towards reading raised in students' very positive reading attitudes.
Conclusions: Over the intervening years between 2001 and 2011, the improved home literacy environment shaped by parents was associated with students' great reading advancement. Copyright © 2014 Society for the Scientific Study of Reading (SSSR).