What meetings has the Minister had in regards to Wales potentially participating in the Progress International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), and have any further such meetings been scheduled for the future?
Wales participates in PISA, the most widely recognised international assessment programme, which provides us with a regular external comparative check on our progress in relation to reading standards. The last PISA results showed an improvement in reading scores for Wales.
It is likely, given the similar sampling requirements of PIRLS to PISA that there would be significant overlap in the schools sampled for these surveys.
Our focus is on assessing children to support their learning. We provide a personalised assessment for each learner so that learners, parents and teachers are aware of the steps that individuals need to take to make progress in their reading.