Half of Icelandic boys lack basic reading skills

Only 56% of Icelandic 15-year-olds have basic reading comprehension skills, down from 78% a decade ago, mbl.is reports. The findings come from newly published results of the PISA assessment.

Half of boys do not reach the basic level, compared with 62% of girls. Iceland’s overall result is well below the OECD average of 69% and the 70% average across the other Nordic countries.

The share of Icelandic students reaching the basic level fell by four percentage points since the previous assessment. The decline appears similar to the overall downward trend across OECD countries, but it was less severe than in the last PISA assessment, when no country recorded a larger drop than Iceland.

Over the full 10-year period, however, Iceland has experienced the largest decline among all participating countries. Only 28% of students of foreign origin have basic reading comprehension skills. The gap narrows when social and economic status is taken into account, but it does not disappear.