1. 國立臺灣師範大學英語系陳秋蘭 clchern@ntnu.edu.tw
PISA 與英語閱讀素養
國立臺灣師範大學英語系陳秋蘭

2. International Assessments
PIRLS (every 5 years) : Progress in International Reading Literacy Study
PISA (every 3 years): the Program for International Student Assessment

3. How is reading defined in PIRLS
Reading literacy is directly related to the reasons why people read. Broadly, these reasons include reading for personal interest and pleasure, reading to participate in society, and reading to learn. For young readers, emphasis is placed on reading for interest or pleasure and reading to learn. The PIRLS assessment of reading literacy will focus on the two purposes that account for most of the reading done by young students both in and out of school: (1) reading for literary experience, (2) reading to acquire and use information.

4. Process of reading comprehension (PIRLS)
Readers construct meaning in different ways. They focus on and retrieve specific ideas, make inferences, interpret and integrate information and ideas, and examine and evaluate text features. The knowledge and experiences that readers bring to reading equip them with an understanding of language, texts, and the world through which they filter their comprehension of the material.

5. What is PISA (adopted from PISA 2009 Assessment Framework)
The OECD Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) was created in It represents a commitment by the governments of OECD member countries to monitor the outcomes of education systems in terms of student achievement, within a common internationally agreed framework. PISA is a collaborative effort, bringing together scientific expertise from the participating countries and steered jointly by their governments on the basis of shared, policy-driven interests. Participating countries take responsibility for the project at the policy level. Through involvement in these expert groups, countries ensure that the PISA assessment instruments are internationally valid and take into account the cultural and curricular context of OECD member countries. They also have strong measurement properties, and place an emphasis on authenticity and educational validity.

6. Key features of PISA (adopted from PISA 2009 Assessment Framework)
• Innovative literacy concept, which is concerned with the capacity of students to apply knowledge and skills in key subject areas and to analyse, reason and communicate effectively as they pose, solve and interpret problems in a variety of situations.
• Relevance to lifelong learning, which does not limit PISA to assessing students’ curricular and cross-curricular competencies, but also asks them to report on their own motivation to learn, their beliefs about themselves and their learning strategies.

7. Reading literacy is defined in terms of students’ ability to understand, use and reflect on written text to achieve their purposes. This aspect of literacy has been well established by previous surveys such as the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS), but is taken further in PISA by the introduction of an
active element – the capacity not just to understand a text but to reflect on it, drawing on one’s own thoughts and experiences.
In PISA, reading literacy is assessed in relation to the:
Text format
Reading process
Situations s.
Definition of reading Literacy (adopted from PISA 2009 Assessment Framework)
Reading literacy is defined in terms of students’ ability to understand, use and reflect on written text to achieve their purposes. This aspect of literacy has been well established by previous surveys such as the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS), but is taken further in PISA by the introduction of an
active element – the capacity not just to understand a text but to reflect on it, drawing on one’s own thoughts and experiences. In PISA, reading literacy is assessed in relation to text format, reading process, and situations.

8. Definition of Reading Literacy: 2000 vs 2009
The PISA 2000 definition of reading literacy is as follows:
Reading literacy is understanding, using and reflecting on written texts, in order to achieve one’s goals, to develop one’s knowledge and potential, and to participate in society.
The PISA 2009 definition of reading adds engagement in reading as an integral part of reading literacy:
Reading literacy is understanding, using, reflecting on and engaging with written texts, in order to achieve one’s goals, to develop one’s knowledge and potential, and to participate in society.

9. Text format
• Text format: Often students’ reading assessments have focused on continuous texts or prose organised in sentences and paragraphs. From its inception, PISA has used in addition non-continuous texts that present information in other ways, such as in lists, forms, graphs, or diagrams. It has also distinguished between a range of prose forms, such as narration, exposition and argumentation. In PISA 2009, the framework encompasses both print and electronic texts, and the distinctions outlined above are applied to both. These distinctions are based on the principle that individuals will encounter a range of written material in their civic and work-related adult life (e.g. application, forms, advertisements) and that it is not sufficient to be able to read a limited number of types of text typically encountered in school.

10. Reading processes
• Reading processes (aspects): Students are not assessed on the most basic reading skills, as it is assumed that
most 15-year-old students will have acquired these. Rather, they are expected to demonstrate their proficiency in accessing and retrieving information, forming a broad general understanding of the text, interpreting it, reflecting on its contents and reflecting on its form and features.

11. • Situations
• Situations: These are defined by the use for which the text was constructed. For example, a novel, personal
letter or biography is written for people’s personal use; official documents or announcements for public use;
a manual or report for occupational use; and a textbook or worksheet for educational use. Since some groups
may perform better in one reading situation than in another, it is desirable to include a range of types of
reading in the assessment item

12. Literacy Framework PISA literacy framework.doc

13. Sample articles and questions PIRLS: Mice_E
Sample articles and questions PIRLS: Mice_E.pdf PISA: PISA sample text and Q's (Graffiti).doc

14. Conclusion
It’s all about about reading to learn and thinking while reading.
Are we ready to teach reading as a thinking skill?
How can we incorporate thinking into EFL reading?