Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is PIRLS?
A: PIRLS is the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study. It is run by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) and is usually taken by pupils aged 9-10 worldwide.
Q: What does PIRLS assess?
A: PIRLS assesses the reading attainment of pupils. It focuses on two main purposes for reading: reading for literary experience and reading to acquire and use information.
The item formats comprise multiple choice and open-ended questions.
The information collected is used to compare pupils’ knowledge and skills in reading around the world.
Q: What is PIRLS used for?
A: The PIRLS assessment is designed to be used in any country. This means comparisons can be made across countries in order to compare the performance of education systems. It also allows comparisons to be made within countries over time. For PIRLS 2021, Northern Ireland is able to examine its performance with other participating countries as well as comparing it with the results from 2016 and 2011.
Q: How are schools and pupils chosen to participate in PIRLS?
A: From a list of all the schools in Northern Ireland, international researchers use a computer program to choose a representative group of schools to take part in the study. Selected schools are then asked to provide a list of Year 6 classes within their school. If there is only one Year 6 class, they are the participating class. If there is more than one Year 6 class then up to three classes are randomly selected. For small schools all pupils in Year 6 may be selected.
In PIRLS 2021, pupils were in Year 7 when they look part.
Q: How was PIRLS 2021 adapted to deal with Covid-19?
A: PIRLS 2021 was disrupted by the pandemic. In Northern Ireland, the data collection period was delayed from May/June to September/October which meant pupils were at the beginning of Year 7 instead of the end of Year 6.
NFER supported schools throughout the PIRLS 2021 process, by strictly following the latest Government guidance and any local measures in place during the assessment period, endeavouring to accommodate schools’ preferences for administering the assessment.
Additionally, the school and parent questionnaires both included international questions on Covid-19. Answers to these questions can help to explore the implications of the Covid-19 pandemic on education and learning world-wide.
Q: When did the fieldwork in schools take place in PIRLS 2021?
The Minister of Education decided to postpone the PIRLS study in schools from May/June 2021 to September/October 2021 due to the health situation at the time. Therefore, the study began during the week commencing 20 September 2021. Pupils were assessed at the beginning of Year 7 as opposed to the end of Year 6. This postponement gave pupils and schools a chance to return to a more normal period of school life prior to the study taking place.
Q: What did participating schools need to do in PIRLS 2021?
A: NFER supported schools throughout their participation to ensure that PIRLS was a rewarding experience for teachers and pupils. We arranged a convenient date for the PIRLS study. The team at NFER and the NFER PIRLS study administrator worked closely with the school to ensure that the study ran smoothly and adhered to the Government Covid-19 guidance at the time and any local measures in place.
In addition, the Principal and one teacher from the sampled Year 7 class(es) were asked to complete a questionnaire, collecting information about their background and experiences.
Q: Is the school’s data confidential?
A: The information collected was provided in de-identified form to the international study organisers. For recruitment and administration purposes, the Department of Education received the names of the selected schools and participating pupils. However, your school feedback and individually identifiable response data for your school or pupils has not and will not be shared with the Department or any other organisation. The Department of Education receives de-identified information on the outcomes for international comparison and research purposes.
The final PIRLS 2021 data that is available on the IEA website is anonymised so that no school, class or pupil can be identified and IEA have further restrictions to minimise any risk of disclosure. The Department of Education may permit other organisations to link PIRLS data to existing national datasets for the purposes of research only. All data processing will be GDPR compliant (see PIRLS 2021 School privacy notice).
Q: Why is it important for schools to take part in PIRLS?
A: In order for the results to be meaningful, it is important that the schools that take part are representative of the country as a whole. There are strict requirements about the numbers of schools that participate in the study, and if these requirements are not met, the data that is collected is not considered good enough to appear in the international report. We will always work with participating schools to make sure delivery runs as smoothly as possible.
Q: Why is it important for pupils to take part in PIRLS?
A: Schools and classes are randomly selected. This random selection means the pupils chosen will, therefore, give a fair representation of all pupils in Northern Ireland and this is important for an international study such as PIRLS. If an invited pupil does not take part, they cannot be replaced by another pupil from another class. There are strict rules about the number of schools, classes and pupils who take part in the study, and if these are not met then the data collected is not considered good enough to appear in the international report.
Participating in a PIRLS study is an opportunity for pupils to represent Northern Ireland in an important global study.
Q: Are there sample materials for PIRLS?
A: Digital examples of the questions used in PIRLS 2021 can be found on the website of the international consortium.
Q: What happens in schools on the day of a PIRLS assessment?
A: Usually, on the day of the PIRLS assessment, a study administrator will lead the sessions in schools. The study administrator will read some instructions and answer any questions. Pupils complete one paper-based booklet containing reading texts and questions. Afterwards, pupils complete a questionnaire about their learning and their attitudes to school. The whole session will last around two and a half hours.
In PIRLS 2021, we worked closely with schools to ensure the administration adhered to Government guidance at the time and any local measures schools had in place in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Q: Who marks the tests?
A: All answers are marked by staff at NFER. All markers are trained according to strict international rules to make sure each country marks their pupils' answers in the same way.
Q: What languages are the assessments and questionnaires available in?
A: Assessments and questionnaires for Northern Ireland pupils are in English.
Q: How can the same assessment be taken in different languages across the world?
A: There are strict procedures for the translation of texts and materials used in PIRLS. Any changes that are made by countries to the assessment materials have to be verified by the international researchers to ensure that the same text is interpreted in the same way, using questions and terminology worded in the same way.
Q: How was PIRLS 2021 adapted to deal with Covid-19?
A: PIRLS 2021 was disrupted by the pandemic. In Northern Ireland, the data collection period was delayed from May/June to September/October which meant pupils were at the beginning of Year 7 instead of the end of Year 6.
NFER supported schools throughout the PIRLS 2021 process, by strictly following the latest Government guidance and any local measures in place during the assessment period, endeavouring to accommodate schools’ preferences for administering the assessment. For example, in a few instances, schools had restrictions on visitors due to the pandemic. In these cases, a staff member delivered the session, with support from a study administrator before, during and after the session.
Additionally, the school and parent questionnaires included international questions on Covid-19. Participating in PIRLS gave schools a chance to contribute to a study which will begin to explore the impact of Covid-19 on education world-wide.
Q: When did pupils take part in PIRLS 2021 ?
PIRLS 2021 was postponed from May/June to September/October 2021, due to the health situation at the time. Therefore, the study began during the week commencing 20 September 2021. Pupils were assessed at the beginning of Year 7 as opposed to the end of Year 6. This postponement gave time for pupils and schools to settle back into a more normal period of school life prior to the study taking place.
Q: Why is it important for pupils to take part in PIRLS?
A: Schools and classes are randomly selected. This random selection means the pupils chosen will, therefore, give a fair representation of all pupils in Northern Ireland and this is important for an international study such as PIRLS. If an invited pupil does not take part, they cannot be replaced by another pupil from another class. There are strict rules about the number of schools, classes and pupils who take part in the study, and if these are not met, the data collected is not considered good enough to appear in the international report.
Q: Are there sample materials for PIRLS?
A: There are sample questions available from earlier rounds of PIRLS. These give a good idea about the type of questions that appear in the assessments.
Q: How long does a PIRLS assessment take?
A: The whole session lasts around two and a half hours and is administered during normal school hours.
Q: Is the data confidential?
A: We take privacy and confidentiality very seriously and no individual pupil or parent has been or will be identified or identifiable in any reporting. The information collected was provided in de-identified form to the international study organisers. No identifiable pupil or parent data has been or will be shared with any third party organisations.
The final PIRLS 2021 data that will be available on the IEA website will be anonymised so that no school or pupil can be identified and will be further restricted to minimise any risk of disclosure. The Department of Education may permit other organisations to link PIRLS data to existing national datasets for the purposes of research only. All data processing will be GDPR compliant (see PIRLS 2021 Parent and Pupil notices).
Q: Are there sample materials for PIRLS?
A: Digital examples of the questions used in PIRLS 2021 can be found on the website of the international consortium.
Q: How was PIRLS 2021 adapted to deal with Covid-19?
A: PIRLS 2021 was disrupted by the pandemic. In Northern Ireland, the data collection period was delayed from May/June to September/October which meant pupils were at the beginning of Year 7 instead of the end of Year 6.
NFER supported schools throughout the PIRLS 2021 process, by strictly following the latest Government guidance and any local measures in place during the assessment period, endeavouring to accommodate schools’ preferences for administering the assessment. For example, in a few instances, schools had restrictions on visitors due to the pandemic. In these cases, a staff member delivered the session, with support from a study administrator before, during and after the session.
Additionally, the school and parent questionnaires included international questions on Covid-19. Answers to these questions have helped and will help to explore the impact of Covid-19 on education world-wide.