Reading habits study of more than 3,800 students in Egypt shows big increase from last year in reading levels

• 7% year-on- year increase in the number of pupils participating
• Major international study also revealed the most popular authors among Egypt students

Cairo, Egypt: The annual ‘What Kids Are Reading Report’, a study of over 3,800 pupils across Egypt and over 1.2 million globally from leading edtech provider, Renaissance, shows a significant increase in the Average Book Difficulty (or ATOS Book Level) of the books read by pupils, which, at 3.7, is now on a par with the UK’s average of 3.6.

The Average Percent Correct (or APC) when pupils were quizzed on the books they had read, however, declined a little to 0.79, but is still a little above the UK average and is in line with the level of comprehension pupils need to progress their reading skills and attainment.

The What Kids Are Reading report also reveals pupils’ attitudes towards popular authors and books, with pupils in Egypt showing a big change in pattern of choice. Top authors in Egypt included Dav Pilkey, with nine books including eight of the top nine. The most popular titles were Dog Man: Fetch-22, Dog Man: Lord of the Fleas, as well as Dog Man and Cat Kid, to name a few. Roald Dahl had four books – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda (English), The Magic Finger and George’s Marvellous Medicine. Of high readability in the list was Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J. K. Rowling.

The research also confirms the link between more reading time in school with higher reading attainment. When considering Engaged Reading Time (ERT) and Cumulative Number of Words Read, we see further evidence of the impact of the time spent reading – the more time is allocated to reading, the greater the number of words read, with the biggest gains occurring when ERT exceeds 30 minutes per day.

The What Kids Are Reading Report was written using Renaissance data analysed by Professor Keith Topping from the University of Dundee. Commenting on the overall report:

“The key takeaway from this report is that more reading practice at an appropriate level of difficulty improves pupils’ reading performance. This has a knock-on impact on academic performance across the board. Focusing on comprehension and finding books they genuinely love will benefit pupils within and beyond the classroom. Schools and parents can support students by encouraging them to read often and consume more challenging books.”

Crispin Chatterton, former teacher and Director of Education at Renaissance, commented: “The What Kids Are Reading report identifies which books and authors are most engaging pupils. This is vital information for teachers to ensure pupils are reading books they really enjoy. When reading for pleasure, pupils are more likely to pay close attention to the content and it encourages a love of reading which stretches beyond their school years. Digital tools such as Accelerated Reader and myON can also help teachers to identify and support weak and reluctant readers.”

James Parkinson, Assistant Head, Teaching and Learning, at El Alsson British and American International Schools added: “The Renaissance solutions give our students the autonomy to choose books within their interests, thereby increasing their reading engagement. When students engage with these books, they start to read more, and over time, you can see the difference in their vocabulary and writing skills… and that’s what’s essential for us. Reading is a powerful tool for learning, particularly for students who often struggle with language and literacy skills in their native language. Access to a wide range of book titles and quizzes motivates our students to read, which in turn enables them to develop their English proficiency while improving their academic literacy performance. Hence, this focus on literacy development and reading engagement supports our learners in discovering how to read and write while learning English as a second or third language.”