PIRLS 2011 Design

Methodology
  • International large-scale sample-based assessment of student achievement and survey of the educational context
  • Monitors trends in student achievement by reporting results from successive cycles on a common achievement scale
  • Predominantly quantitative, with qualitative information presented in descriptive country chapters in the PIRLS 2011 encyclopedia
TOP
Method(s)
  • Overall approach to data collection
    • Proctored assessment of student achievement
    • Self-administered surveys for students, parents, teachers, and school principals
  • Specification
    • Cross-sectional
    • Some trend reporting possible with previous cycles
TOP
Target population
  • All students enrolled in the grade that represented four years of schooling, counting from the first year of ISCED Level 1, provided that the mean age at the time of testing was at least 9.5 years.
  • In countries where Grade 4 students were expected to find the PIRLS assessment too difficult, Grade 6 was defined as the target population.
TOP
Sample design
Stratified two-stage cluster sampling design 

First stage: sampling schools

  • Selection probability proportional to the size of the school (PPS)
  • Optional: stratification of schools according to (demographic) variables of interest (e.g., school type or source of funding, level of urbanization, region of the country), either explicit or implicit
  • Random-start fixed-interval systematic sampling
  • Schools sampled at the same time for field trial and main data collection
  • For each sampled school, two replacement schools were assigned where possible

 

Second stage (students): sampling classes

Within schools agreeing to participate:

  • Systematic random sampling was used to select one or more classes from the sampled school in the target grade.
  • Each class had an equal selection probability within the school.
  • If a selected class was smaller than half of the average class size, a pseudo-class was created with other classes.
  • All students within a selected class were asked to participate.

 

General notes

  • Sampling of schools was conducted by Statistics Canada and the sampling team at IEA Hamburg.
  • Sampling procedures within the center/school were carried out by the national study centers, using the Within-school Sampling Software for Windows (WinW3S) provided by IEA.
  • All sampling activities were monitored and documented by Statistics Canada and IEA Hamburg staff.
  • Most of the countries that participated in TIMSS 2011 at Grade 4 also participated in PIRLS 2011 with the same samples of students.
TOP
Sample size

Intended per country

  • Approx. 4,500 assessed students
  • A minimum of 150 schools (in countries with fewer than 150 schools, all available schools were included)
  • In each sampled school, selection of one class
  • Required effective sample size: minimum of 400 students 
     

Total achieved

Approximately 325,000 students from 58 education systems (49 countries and 9 benchmarking entities) participated, including countries assessing students at more than one grade, benchmarking assessments, and prePIRLS.

TOP
Data collection techniques and instruments

Student Assessment

  • Written format
  • Reading passages and accompanying questions:
    • Multiple-choice (at least half the number of total points)
    • Constructed-response
  • Achievement items
    • 10 item blocks for PIRLS and 8 item blocks for prePIRLS
      • 12–17 items per block
    • 13 test booklets for PIRLS and 9 booklets for prePIRLS
      • Items per assessment
        • PIRLS: 135 items
        • prePIRLS: 123 items
    • Linking mechanisms between booklets and between cycles
      • New passages and items in 2011: 4 blocks
      • The other 6 blocks are trend passages and items (unreleased) from PIRLS 2001 and 2006
  • Matrix sampling of passages/items (rotated test booklet design)

 

Background questionnaires

  • Student questionnaire, in print format; modular design
  • Learning to Read survey (home questionnaire), to be completed by students’ parents or primary caregivers, in print format
  • Teacher questionnaire, to be completed by the reading teachers of assessed classes, print or online; modular design
  • School questionnaire, to be completed by the principal of each school sampled, in print or online format

 

Curriculum questionnaire

  • To be completed by NRCs
  • Modular design
  • Online format

 

Descriptive encyclopedia chapters

  • One chapter for each participating entity
  • Written by experts from ministries of education, research institutes, or institutions of higher education (in countries and benchmarking entities) based on an internationally agreed-upon outline.
TOP
Languages
  • Assessment instruments administered in 48 languages.
  • Instruments (assessments of achievement and student questionnaires) administered in two or more languages in 17 countries.
  • The most common languages: English (16 countries) and Arabic (7 countries)
TOP
Translation procedures
  • International version of all assessment instruments developed in English by TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center.
  • Instruments then translated and adapted by participating countries into their languages of instruction.
  • Translations verified by independent linguistic and assessment experts in order to ensure equivalence with the international version.
TOP
Quality control of operations

During data collection

  • National Research Coordinator (NRC) in each participating country responsible for data collection
  • Standardized survey operations procedures: step-by-step documentation of all operational activities provided with manuals
  • Full-scale field test of all instruments and operational procedures (in each participating country and benchmarking entity)
  • Provision of software tools for supporting activities (e.g., sampling and tracking classes and students, administering school and teacher questionnaires, documenting scoring reliability, creating and checking data files)
  • Training of NRCs and their staff, school coordinators, test administrators, etc.
  • School visits conducted by international quality control monitors (IQCMs) during test administration (15 schools per country)
  • National quality control program
  • Survey activities questionnaire (SAQ) to be completed by NRCs

 

During data processing and cleaning

  • Testing of all data cleaning programs with simulated data sets
  • Material receipt database
  • National adaptation database
  • Standardized cleaning process
  • Repetition of data cleaning and comparison of new data sets with preceding versions
  • Identification of irregularities in data patterns and correction of data errors
TOP
Sources - Technical documentation
TOP
Other sources
TOP