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            Internationally, 
              how well do fourth-grade students read? How do their reading habits 
              and attitudes compare from one country to another? 
               
              Thirty-five countries participated in PIRLS 2001, IEA's new state-of-the-art 
              Progress in International Reading Literacy Study at the fourth grade 
              (9- and 10-year-olds). With 150,000 students tested, PIRLS 2001 
              is the first in a planned 5-year cycle of international trend studies 
              in reading literacy. 
               
              Directed by the International Study Center at Boston College, PIRLS 
              consists of a carefully-constructed test assessing a range of reading 
              comprehension strategies for two major reading purposes - literary 
              and informational. PIRLS collected extensive information about home, 
              school, and national influences on how well students learn to read. 
              Of special interest, parents and caregivers completed questionnaires 
              about their children's early literacy activities. 
               
              Countries' reading achievement results are in the PIRLS 2001 International 
              Report, together with data on students' home and school experiences 
              in learning to read. The PIRLS 2001 Encyclopedia contains information 
              provided by each participating country about its reading education. | 
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