Half an academic year’s difference in reading skills by the 4th year of primary education between pupils who receive family reading support and those who do not

Fundació Bofill is promoting the campaign “Families, reading allies” to help schools, libraries and organisations lead actions to increase the potential of families when it comes to providing reading support for their children.

In Catalonia, 1 in every 4 children has a low reading level when they finish primary education. Not attaining an optimal level of reading comprehension has a negative impact on academic achievement, a warning sign of school failure.
The level of reading skills affects families to differing extents. By the 4th year of primary education, pupils from families on low incomes exhibit a level of reading skills that equates to them being almost half an academic year behind pupils from prosperous families (20 points).
Support and a reading-conducive atmosphere are determining factors, slightly above family income (22 points). The difference between pupils who receive family support and those who do not is substantial and by the 4th year of primary education equates to half an academic year.
It is urgent to promote public policies aimed at mobilising the role of families as key agents in the development of reading skills, particularly in the case of those students from more vulnerable backgrounds where settings conducive to reading are absent.
To help offer a response, Fundació Bofill has formed the campaign “Families, reading allies”. The goal of the initiative is to enable families of pupils in the 4th, 5th and 6th year of primary education to successfully support their children in the process of learning and building reading habits.

In Catalonia, 1 in every 4 children has a low reading level when they finish primary education

Not reaching an optimal level of reading comprehension negatively impacts academic achievement, a warning sign of school failure.

25.2% of pupils in Catalonia have a low or medium-low level of reading comprehension by the 6th year of primary education, i.e., when they finish primary school 1 in every 4 children does not reach a reading level that would ensure they could easily understand what they are reading, which would thus reinforce their social and educational success.

Percentage of students in each bracket for Catalan language competency according to the dimension assessed. 2021

				% of students in each competency bracket
	n	Average	Typical variation	Low level	Medium-low level	Medium-high level	High level
Overall score	71,665	76.7	15.2	12.3%	16.1%	36.6%	35.0%
Reading comprehension	71,665	79.1	16.5	11.2%	14.0%	25.8%	49.0%
Written expression	71,665	70.1	18.6	12.0%	21.8%	34.0%	32.3%
Oral expression	71,665	83.8	17.9	5.9%	15.5%	43.1%	35.5%

This statistic alone is shocking, but it is made worse when we tie it in with educational attainment. Research unquestionably tells us that a good level of reading comprehension is a protective factor against school failure because it has a greater bearing on academic performance than the socioeconomic background of pupils (PISA, 2018).

Despite having accomplished reading mechanics and reading fluency, children with a low level of reading comprehension exhibit difficulties when interpreting causes and consequences in a story; distinguishing relevant information in a table, graph or image; and bringing together all the information from a text to explain its importance, among other aspects.

When they finish primary school 1 in every 4 children does not reach a reading level that would ensure they could easily understand what they are reading, which would thus reinforce their social and educational success.

These difficulties hinder the acquisition of knowledge and skills in other areas of the syllabus, for instance when they do not understand a statement in a mathematical challenge, when they are unable to search for and differentiate relevant information in science projects, or when they are unable to explain an opinion on the main idea in a literary text.

Good reading comprehension is vital to prevent school failure because failing to understand what you are reading compromises academic achievement. It is urgent to promote measures for the development of reading skills if we want to ensure the academic achievement of the whole community, prevent social exclusion and create resilient pupils.

By the 4th year of primary education, pupils from families on low incomes exhibit a level of reading skills that equates to them being almost half an academic year behind pupils from prosperous families (20 points).

In Catalonia the analysis of data on basic skills (2022) and of PIRLS (2016) warns us that a shortage of cultural, social and financial resources on the part of families has a significant effect on children’s levels of reading comprehension.

In 2022, the tests of basic skills in the 4th year also pointed to this inequality. By the 4th year of primary education there is a hugely unequal distribution in the results for skills achievement among schools depending on their level of complexity: 52.4% of pupils have a medium-low or low level at high complexity schools, while this percentage falls to 35.3% and 24.2% at medium and low complexity schools, respectively.

By the 4th year of primary education, pupils from families on low incomes exhibit a level of reading skills that equates to them being almost half an academic year behind pupils from prosperous families (20 points).

In other words, lower levels of reading skills are attained at schools with more pupils from disadvantaged families who have poor resources to be able to support their children in learning to read.

Average score and percentage of students in each competency bracket according to the associated variables. Catalan language competency. 2022

		Overall averages			% of students in each competency bracket
		n	Average	Typical variation	Low level	Medium-low level	Medium-high level	High level
Overall for Catalonia		70,106	74.1	14.0	12.7%	23.1%	44.1%	20.1%
Sex	Girls	34,642	76.1	13.5	10.3%	19.8%	45.1%	24.8%
Sex	Boys	35,464	72.2	14.2	15.1%	26.4%	43.1%	15.4%
Repeat of year	No	62,970	75.5	13.2	10.1%	21.9%	46.0%	22.0%
Repeat of year	Yes	7,136	62.3	15.2	35.6%	34.0%	27.5%	3.0%
Type of school	State	44,927	72.4	14.5	15.7%	25.0%	42.4%	16.9%
Type of school	Private	25,179	77.2	12.3	7.4%	19.7%	47.2%	25.6%
School complexity	Low	13,899	78.2	11.9	6.5%	17.7%	47.2%	28.6%
	Medium	45,023	74.3	13.6	11.9%	23.4%	45.1%	19.6%
	High	11,184	68.2	15.8	23.7%	28.7%	36.3%	11.2%

Source: data from the Higher Council for the Assessment of the Education System. The assessment of the 4th year of compulsory secondary education-2022. Quaderns d’avaluació, 53

Support and a reading-conducive atmosphere are determining factors, slightly above family income (22 points)

The difference between pupils who receive family support and those who do not is substantial and by the 4th year of primary education and equates to half an academic year.

By the 4th year of primary education, the PIRLS results for 2016 in Catalonia reveal that children who receive support at home when carrying out activities directly or indirectly related to reading (telling stories, singing songs, reading signs and labels out loud, playing games with the alphabet, etc.) achieve higher performance in reading comprehension than those who do not benefit from this support.

Moreover, the difference is exacerbated when referring to the reading habits of families specifically. Children from families who enjoy longer periods of reading attain a far higher level of reading comprehension than children from families who do not typically read.

Indeed, both the indicator related to the specific activities of support and encouragement, and the indicator related to reading habits at home point to a difference in the results by the 4th year of primary education amounting to half an academic year. Accordingly, with every school year that goes by, disadvantaged children who do not benefit from an atmosphere of encouragement and support at home experience lower chances of educational attainment.

It is urgent to foster public policies aimed at mobilising the role of families as key agents in the development of reading skills, particularly in instances where the socioeconomic factor steers those families towards a passive role with regard to the promotion of reading.

In Catalonia’s education system, reading and writing are decisive factors in assuring educational attainment. However, although the school teaches pupils to read well, reading activity needs to be supported from the home. In fact, of all the potential strategies for involving parents in children’s education, research suggests that the positive effects of shared reading with the family on the programmes are far better than those of the remaining interventions:

Source: Blasco, J. (2018). What works in education? Evidence for educational improvement. Do programmes to encourage parental involvement in education help to improve school performance?

Indeed, several studies point to the fact that pupils from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds with a high level of school performance are precisely those who are good readers with above-average scores for reading skills.

Thus, although the family’s socioeconomic circumstances are a significant factor in a child’s educational attainment, the commitment and involvement of families in their children’s education – encouraging the development of reading skills and habits – are essential to overcome the risk of social exclusion and to generate resilient students (Ferrer et al., 2011). Indeed, pupils who exhibit better reading confidence are more likely to be resilient.

This resilience can be enhanced from the family setting, not only based on role models but also through the performance of small actions from the home, such as reading simple words or sentences from a very young age to telling stories or singing songs.

Consequently, it is essential and a matter of urgency for public administrations to foster policies to support and develop the capacity of families in order to provide them with the tools, resources and time needed to suitably support their children, thereby contributing to their educational attainment.

Families, reading allies

To offer a response to the current situation, Fundació Bofill is presenting the campaign “Families, reading allies”. Its goal is to enable families of pupils in the 4th, 5th and 6th year of primary education to successfully support their children in the process of learning and building reading habits.

As part of the LECXIT programme for educational achievement through reading, promoted by Fundació Bofill, we are launching Families, reading allies, an initiative that offers schools, libraries and social organisations the methodology, practical resources and educational settings needed so they can lead actions to enhance the parental reading abilities. These actions shall be addressed to families from the local area, particularly those with the greatest need.

The campaign proposes an open model to improve parents’ abilities to provide reading support for children in the 4th, 5th and 6th year of primary education. This will help parents to feel they are fully capable of supporting them in the process of learning and building reading habits, a process that unfolds at school but one that must also be visible in the home.

The campaign proposes an open model to improve parents’ abilities to provide reading support for children in the 4th, 5th and 6th year of primary education.

In addition, the campaign offers all education agents knowledge, practical resources, and educational and support settings aimed at enhancing the parental abilities of families as reading allies, based on their own knowledge and expertise.

Families, reading allies benefits from the cooperation and support of the Ministry of Education of the Government of Catalonia through the Plan for the Improvement of Educational Opportunities (PMOE, from the Catalan). This cooperation will ensure that schools of the highest complexity can, where they wish to, benefit from professionals to enhance the sessions with families.

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