The PIRLS (the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) 2021 second National Research Coordinator (i.e., NRC) meeting hosted by National Academy for Educational Research took place at Taipei City, Taiwan R.O.C. from December 2nd to December 7th, 2018. IEA (the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement) has been conducting this international comparative assessment of student achievement since 2001, enabling participating countries to make evidence-based decisions for improving educational policy about reading literacy.
    
Taiwan has a long history of participating international large-scale educational studies, including PIRLS, TIMSS, ICCS related to IEA, and PISA and TALIS related to OECD. Through participating in these studies, students’ learning position in different subjects relative to other countries has been well scrutinized. Also, the performance of Taiwan’s students in these studies has become an important indicator, strongly relevant to our educational policies.

The opening speech was given by Dr. Nan-Shyan Chu, the Chief Secretary of Ministry of Education, “Along with the outcomes of PIRLS 2006, 2011 and 2016, the policies related to reading instruction have been promoted, and through these policies, a significant progress in students’ reading performance has been observed. With the help of PIRLS, not only the present status of students’ reading competence is well understood, but also the effectiveness of instructional policies related to reading has been deeply examined.” Dr. Chu also extended his appreciation to Dr. Ina Mullis, Dr. Michael Martin, IEA and Boston College colleagues, and national research coordinators across all participating countries. The meeting ended up with a productive, excellent results, and all participants cannot help admiring all heartwarming beauty and hospitality offered by Taiwan and Taiwanese people.

Photo:Group photo Participant.