Another red light for the education system: discouraging results are once again coming to the Israeli education system. The results of the Peerless International Study (PIRLS) for 2022 indicate a sharp decline in the average achievements of fourth graders in Israel in their mother tongue. The Education Ministry claims that these are the consequences of the coronavirus.
Data from the Peerless International Study (PIRLS) make it possible to compare the reading abilities of fourth graders in Israel before (2016) and after (2022), compared to 42 countries.
The average mother tongue of fourth graders is similar to that of 2001. Students at school, illustration, photo: Herzi Shapira
The data show that the average language achievement of fourth graders in Israel in 2022 declined by 20 points (similar to the level in 2001). The decline was recorded mainly in the achievements of strong Hebrew-speaking students. There is no significant change in the achievements of Arabic speakers, which remain low.
The Peerless study has been conducted every five years, since 2001, by the International Organization for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), and examines the reading literacy of fourth graders in countries around the world. In Israel, about 5,000 students from about 200 schools were tested, constituting a representative national sample. The goal of the study was to examine the students' reading level and reading comprehension, and included two main types of texts, narrative and informational, in Hebrew or Arabic, depending on the language of instruction in the school.
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