In 1971, when the reading assessment began, we tested literacy mainly by asking multiple choice questions to gauge comprehension.

As part of the 2011 reading assessment, fourth- and eighth-graders were asked about the frequency in which they read for fun on their own time.

Chester E. Finn Jr., the Education Department's assistant secretary for educational research and improvement, said changes were made in the 1986 reading assessment without being field-tested.

In 2012, 79% of Key Stage 1 pupils attained Level 2 or above in the Key Stage 1 reading assessment.

Versant technology has also been applied to the assessment of Aviation English, children's oral reading assessment, and adult literacy assessment.

In 2008, she published an executive position paper: School-wide reading assessment in a Montessori Program (University of Delaware).

And girls in all three age groups outperformed boys in reading, as they have done in all six reading assessments since 1971.

Close to 179,000 fourth-graders and 161,000 eighth-graders participated in the reading assessment.

Susan Frost, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, a private research group, cited data from the federal Department of Education's 2003 reading assessment, showing the extent of the problem.

The St Paul's curriculum has a strong literacy and numeracy focus with specific programmes in pre-writing and reading, intensive phonics, structured reading assessment and development, and library skills.