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posted by Fnord666 on Saturday February 29 2020, @11:02AM   Printer-friendly
from the reading-is-fundamental dept.

Children who read books daily score higher in school tests, vast new study states:

What children choose to read outside school directly influences their academic performance, according to a major new study led by the University of Malaga and UCL, and published in the peer-reviewed journal Oxford Review of Education.

Using longitudinal census data to look at more than 43,000 students, aged 10 to 11 and then again when they were 13 to 14, the research provides substantial evidence that pupils who enjoy reading high-quality books daily score higher in tests.

The average marks of pupils who read books rose by 0.22 points overall, which is the equivalent of 3 months' worth of additional secondary school academic growth.

The study demonstrated no similar advantage for children's reading daily newspapers, comics or magazines, and only marginal benefits from short stories.

The findings have important implications for parents, teachers and policymakers, and the international research team is recommending that young people devote their reading time solely to books.

"Although three months' worth of progress may sound comparatively small to some people, it equates to more than 10% of the three academic secondary school years measured—from when these young people are aged 11 years old to 14, which we know is a hugely developmental period," explains co-author Professor John Jerrim, from the UCL.

"In an increasingly digital world, it's important that young people are encouraged to find time to read a good book.

The author does note however,

The findings of this study should be interpreted in the context of some limitations and the need for further research. These include the research being carried out in one particular region within Spain, and the focus upon academic progress made during the early teenage years. At this point, reading skills are already quite well-developed—there is no data for younger children.

John Jerrim, Luis Alejandro Lopez-Agudo & Oscar D. Marcenaro-Gutierrez (2020) Does it matter what children read? New evidence using longitudinal census data from Spain, Oxford Review of Education, DOI: 10.1080/03054985.2020.1723516


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  • (Score: 0, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 29 2020, @11:42AM (9 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 29 2020, @11:42AM (#964567)

    "What children choose to read outside school directly influences their academic performance"? No, academic performance and what children choose to read outside school are both influenced by the same underlying factor. Spanish children read quality literature like Don Quixote also do well in school because of their basic genetic superiority, while children who read the Koran do poorly in school because they are too busy dreaming of things to blow up.

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  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 29 2020, @12:12PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 29 2020, @12:12PM (#964569)

    I agree. They are getting this flipped so as to confirm their own bias.

    Intelligent children do read, create, invent... They are not intelligent BECAUSE they do read, create and invent. They CAN do these things because they are intelligent. Then, as they read, create and invent, they become more knownledgeable, learn new things, etc. Intelligence and knowledge are not the same but are usually confused by the general people, sometimes to advance agendas.

    • (Score: 1) by RandomFactor on Sunday March 01 2020, @03:39PM

      by RandomFactor (3682) Subscriber Badge on Sunday March 01 2020, @03:39PM (#964927) Journal

      Intelligent children do read, create, invent... They are not intelligent BECAUSE they do read, create and invent.

      The brain develops over time. Reading (and many other things) affect that development.

      --
      В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды
  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 29 2020, @03:32PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 29 2020, @03:32PM (#964605)

    Ironically, your analysis is equally flawed: being a jihadi doesn't cause you to read the Koran, it's the other way around.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 29 2020, @07:04PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 29 2020, @07:04PM (#964641)

      You are wrong. Belief is something you end up being convinced. Intelligence is a trait you get born with. You can change your beliefs. You can't change your intelligence.

      Also, I get you don't know many muslims. I do, and among them nobody really reads anything, sacred or not.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 29 2020, @08:32PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 29 2020, @08:32PM (#964663)

        >> You can change your beliefs.

        Not if you're a Muslim. Renouncing your belief is apostasy, and that's punishable by death. It's right there in the Koran.

        At least the Scientologists let you leave with your life.

        • (Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Sunday March 01 2020, @01:50PM

          by maxwell demon (1608) on Sunday March 01 2020, @01:50PM (#964873) Journal

          There is a difference between "you can" and "you are allowed to". Most people can kill other people (there are countless methods to do so, and if you don't know how, the criminal story section of your local bookshop provides you with plenty of ideas). That doesn't mean they won't get punished if they do so and get caught (in some places, also by death).

          --
          The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
  • (Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 29 2020, @03:38PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 29 2020, @03:38PM (#964608)

    because of their basic genetic superiority

    On the other hand, you're obviously from the shallow end of the gene pool.

    • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Captival on Saturday February 29 2020, @04:27PM

      by Captival (6866) on Saturday February 29 2020, @04:27PM (#964614)

      Yes, of course. You're indoctrinated with stupidity so you deny science and observation when it makes you uncomfortable. Men and women are exactly the same and there's no difference between anybody. Anybody who doesn't believe in magical wish fulfillment is Hitler.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 02 2020, @09:22AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 02 2020, @09:22AM (#965409)

    Fun fact: lots of Muslim children are actually learning to recite the Koran, not actually read it in terms of comprehension. They basically learn to convert the text to sound without understanding it

    Firstly in lots of cases they don't understand Arabic - it's not a language they know. Secondly, even if they understood Arabic they're strongly discouraged from interpreting for themselves what the Koran said in Arabic 1300+ years ago.

    Translations are typically discouraged too.