Tackling the Gaps in Extracurricular Reading

That the Parliament notes that the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) report, PISA 2009 Assessment Framework - Key Competencies in Reading, Mathematics and Science, that examined 15-year-old students’ performance in reading, mathematics and science concluded that 43% of the pupils whom it surveyed in Scotland do not read for enjoyment; expresses its concern at PISA’s report that 27% of students read for enjoyment for 30 minutes or less per day and that boys were less likely to say that they enjoy reading than girls, and calls on the Scottish Government to take measures to improve the levels of extracurricular reading among pupils and close the apparent gender gap as a means of tackling what it believes to be Scotland’s ongoing battle with illiteracy.