German Fourth Graders’ Reading Abilities Decrease According to Study

16.05.2023

Reading ability directly affects primary school students’ understanding of various subjects. However, according to a study, the reading ability of fourth-grade pupils in Germany is significantly lower than it was 20 years ago. The reason may be related to the restrictions during the new crown epidemic and the lack of extracurricular reading.

(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) The research, abbreviated as Iglu (Internationale Grundschul-Lese-Untersuchung, International Primary School Reading Survey), was conducted by Dortmund University of Technology in Germany. Most alarming, according to its director, Nele McElvany, is that around a quarter of fourth-graders in Germany do not read enough to progress to lower secondary school. In 2001 the proportion was 17%, and in 2016 it was 19%. At the same time, the proportion of students who demonstrated strong reading skills fell slightly to 8.3 percent (11.1 percent in 2016 and 8.6 percent in 2001).

Reasons for the problem include restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic and a lack of reading outside of classroom instruction, the research suggests.Especially in poor families and at homedon’t speak germanof foreign families are more affected.

The study is conducted every five years. The 2021 study surveyed around 4,600 fourth-graders in 252 schools in Germany.

According to Der Spiegel Online, not onlyReading levels of German schoolchildrenThat was down from 2016, and it was also the case in two-thirds of the countries participating in the study.

Out of a total of 57 countries that participated in the study, Germany came in 26th place, after Bulgaria, Poland, the UK and Russia. Topping the list are Singapore, Ireland and Hong Kong. At the bottom of the list is South Africa.

The study also found that girls read significantly better than boys in 51 of the 57 participating countries.In addition, especially in Germany, the level of education of parents directly affects children’sreading ability. In the study, parents filled out a questionnaire.

In the study, 34% of German fourth-grade pupils said they enjoyed reading. The average percentage across countries participating in the study was 42%. 22% of the German primary school students who participated in the survey even said that they do not like to read.

(Catholic News Agency, Der Spiegel Online)

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