Children attending Church and private schools perform better in mathematics, science and reading than those at State schools, new studies have revealed.

Malta attained a poor overall rating, ranking 35th out of 45 countries in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study.

It ranked 28th out of 50 countries in Trend in International Mathematics and Science Study.

The studies are conducted every four years by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, an independent, international cooperative of national research institutions and governmental research agencies.

It conducts large comparative studies of achievement and other aspects of education.

One recently published study carried out in April 2011 across 96 Maltese schools, involving nearly 3,600 pupils, revealed Maltese schoolchildren lagged behind on basic reading skills.

The studies also showed that students fared better with the English language than Maltese.

The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)is a reading and writing literacy study conducted among 10-year-olds.

Its results showed children attending Church and private schools performed better, with girls doing better than the boys.

The study showed Malta was not dedicating enough school time to reading, with 34 fewer hours per scholastic year dedicated specifically to reading compared with the international average.

Maltese schools dedicated 104 hours over an entire scholastic year for reading. Malta dedicated 181 hours to language instruction, 51 fewer hours than the international average.


181

- the number of hours dedicated to language instruction, 51 fewer hours than the international average


When it comes to gauging mathematical and scientific skills, another study ranked Malta 28th in maths and 40th in sciences, from a total of 50 countries.

The Trend in International Mathematics and Science Study (Timss) was also carried out in 2011 among Year Five pupils selected randomly from 62 State, 22 Church and 12 private schools.

This study showed students attending private and Church schools fared better than those in State schools.

It revealed that in mathematical and scientific literacy, girls attending the junior lyceum almost reached the same level as girls attending Church schools.

However, the situation changed in the level attained by boys attending junior lyceums, which almost equalled the level of both girls and boys attending State secondary schools.

In reading skills, junior lyceum girls fared better than boys and girls in other State secondary schools. Interestingly, these girls surpassed the level of boys at Church and private schools.

Teachers who spoke to The Sunday Times of Malta said the results attained by Maltese schoolchildren were “an eye-opener” in view of policy decisions that had to be taken on literacy skills.

Although a lot of pressure was being put on teachers to improve these standings through special focus groups and discussions on the results, parents also carried a responsibility, the teachers said.

Although schools were focusing more on reading, through an increase in time allocated by teachers specifically for reading in classrooms, they were witnessing “little interest” from children, who end up fidgeting or talking during the sessions.

These results showed that more emphasis must be placed on the importance of reading, the teachers said, adding that parents and grandparents played a “crucial role” to expose children to books and reading.

mxuereb@timesofmalta.com

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