Reading literacy as a measure of the quality of education: Estimates based on PISA 2009 data

• Main Authors: Pavlović-Babić Dragica, Baucal Aleksandar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy, Institute of Psychology 2010-01-01
• Series: Psihološka Istraživanja
• Subjects: reading literacy; PISA; quality of education
• Online Access: http://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/0352-7379/2010/0352-73791002241P.pdf
• ISSN: 0352-7379; 2560-306X

The definition of reading literacy in the PISA study, similar to other international studies of reading, emphasizes the importance of reading for active participation in society, thereby promoting the ability of students to critically analyze information and use it for different purposes. The study examined the level of reading literacy in fifteen-year-old students in different countries, whether there was progress compared to previous cycles of testing, the development of the individual literacy components, and the distribution of students by levels of reading literacy. The sample included fifteen-year-old students, regardless of the grade they had attended at the time of testing. The study was conducted in 190 schools, with the total of 5,523 students tested. The data show that the average achievement of students in Serbia in the domain of reading literacy is still below average compared to the achievement of students from OECD countries, but the results were significantly higher when compared to 2006. The most conspicuous change between two cycles of testing occurred at lower achieving levels of reading literacy, which indicates that the dominant way of teaching in schools is through traditional lectures and oriented towards the adoption of academic knowledge. The progress achieved in the average score for reading literacy scale can be seen as a result of greater involvement and greater motivation of students and teachers, the more apparent support of officials in the PISA 2009 study than in 2006 study, as well as a result of substantial changes in general social context in which students were educated. .