Successfully conducted in 57 countries and eight benchmarking entities, PIRLS 2021 differs from previous PIRLS assessments in several ways. First, a substantial creative effort was focused on transitioning PIRLS 2021 to an innovative digital assessment with 23 colorful and engaging texts delivered to students using a new group adaptive design.

Second, PIRLS 2021 data collection occurred over two years during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. Although collecting data in schools faced many disruptions, most countries met the standards for high-quality data collection. This tremendous effort resulted in PIRLS 2021 providing the only internationally comparative fourth grade achievement results collected during the pandemic.

Report by Progress in International Reading Literacy Study