Research published by the National Literacy Trust highlights the link between enjoyment of reading and achievement, with children who enjoy reading more likely to do better at reading – over three years ahead in the classroom – of their peers who don’t enjoy it.
The findings are based on data from 42,406 children aged 8 to 18 who participated in a National Literacy Trust survey at the end of 2016. The study finds that:
- At age 10, children who enjoy reading have a reading age 1.3 years higher than their peers who don’t enjoy reading, rising to 2.1 years for 12-year-olds.
- At age 14, children who enjoy reading have an average reading age of 15.3 years, while those who don’t enjoy reading have an average reading age of just 12 years, a difference of 3.3 years.
The survey also indicates that three-quarters (78%) of UK primary school children enjoy reading, with girls more likely to enjoy reading than boys, with details as follows:
- Overall, 64.9% of girls enjoying reading either very much or quite a lot compared with 52.4% of boys, and this gap increases with age.
- At ages 8 to 11, 82.8% of girls and 72.4% of boys said they enjoyed reading.
- By ages 14 to 16, this figure has dropped to 53.3% of girls and 35.7% of boys reporting that they enjoy reading.
The study also finds that children from Asian ethnic backgrounds are most likely to enjoy reading while children from White backgrounds are least likely to say they enjoy reading.
Source (Open Access): Clark, C. & Teravainen, A. (2017). Celebrating reading for enjoyment: Findings from our annual literacy survey 2016. London: National Literacy Trust.