Presentation Schedule
Eight Arms, Many Challenges: Reading Comprehension Challenges with the PIRLS Amazing Octopus Story (101440)
Session Chair: Allen Ho
Monday, 11 May 2026 13:20
Session: Session 3
Room: Room G405 (4F)
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
Despite significant educational investments worldwide, various countries, specifically South Africa, continue to face a severe literacy crisis, with 81% of Grade 4 learners unable to read for meaning. This quantitative study investigates learner- and text-related factors influencing reading comprehension performance on the PIRLS informational passage, “The Amazing Octopus”. We compare reading outcomes across languages, socioeconomic status, gender, and geographic location (coastal vs. inland provinces), and explore the readability level of the passages. We hypothesise that background knowledge (e.g., marine life) mediates comprehension, favouring coastal learners. Independent-samples t-tests were used to analyse group differences, and readability formulas were applied to assess the syntactic and semantic complexity of the passage. Findings reveal significant performance disparities across language of instruction, socioeconomic status and gender. Coastal learners scored significantly higher than inland peers, supporting the hypothesis that geographically mediated background knowledge enhances comprehension. The readability analysis indicates that the passage presents high linguistic complexity, potentially exceeding the proficiency of many learners, which may contribute to poor reading comprehension outcomes. This study also highlights how learners’ background knowledge, coupled with text complexity, can influence reading assessment outcomes. The study also highlights the complex, nuanced relationship between various factors that can affect reading comprehension performance and raises concerns about the fairness and validity of large-scale assessments in multilingual, socio-economically diverse contexts. It underscores the need for culturally and contextually responsive test design and instructional strategies that bridge knowledge gaps to support equitable reading development in heterogeneous educational systems.
Authors:
Joyce West, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Karen Roux, University of Pretoria, South Africa
About the Presenter(s)
Dr Joyce West is a University Assistant Professor/Lecturer at University of Pretoria in South Africa
See this presentation on the full schedule – Monday Schedule
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