Primary students ranked as accomplished readers

Eunice Lam

Hong Kong primary students were second to Singapore in a global study for reading literacy in their mother tongue.

The five-yearly Progress in International Reading Literacy Study assessed Chinese reading literacy for 3,830 Hong Kong primary four students from 144 schools.

They achieved an average score of 573 compared to a global average of 500, but that was behind Singapore's 587, whose students use English as a first language.

In the previous report Hong Kong ranked third with a score of 569, after Russia's 581 and Singapore's 576.

Results in the latest study show 92 percent of Hong Kong students rank as above average, including 21 percent who are in the top tier.

Girls have generally performed better than boys.

Students also scored higher for informative articles compared to those that are strictly literature.

But Hong Kong ranks second last - 56th - in terms of parents' reading interest. Among 3,765 parents polled only 14 percent had a "higher interest in reading."

The University of Hong Kong's Faculty of Education, which led the study in the SAR, suggested parents should help children to develop a habit of reading at a young age.

And 23 percent of Hong Kong pupils disliked reading, which affected their confidence.

"If we want students to enjoy reading then we need to make reading relaxing or let them know reading is beneficial," said faculty assistant professor Cheong Choo-mui. "Asking students to write long book reports or giving them a lot of homework may make them feel stressed and bored."

But Hong Kong was among the few places globally that did not suffer setbacks in reading literacy due to the pandemic.

The study found that 60 percent of local parents would prepare reading materials for their children during the pandemic.

Lam Wai-ip, an associate professor who led the investigation in the SAR, said if a primary four pupil could read at least 26 books in a year then that pupil would achieve the average reading level of Hong Kong pupils.

The Education Bureau welcomed the results and said this spoke well about equal access to quality education being offered by Hong Kong's primary education system.

eunice.lam@singtaonewscorp.com