Study: Reading newspapers boosts school grades

Greatest correlation found in maths scores among girls

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Reading newspapers appears to promote academic achievements among schoolchildren, according to a national follow-up of the international PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) study. The report suggests that reading newspapers even boosts skills in mathematics. The high rate of newspaper readership in Finland is seen as one factor why Finnish young people score high in a comparison of OECD countries.
      PISA has been implemented twice so far - in 2000 and 2003. Pupils' skills in reading, mathematics, sciences, and problem-solving have been investigated in the study.
     
The follow-up study is based on material collected in 2003, involving about 6,000 Finnish schoolchildren at 15 years of age.
      The best results in all areas of knowledge were achieved by pupils who read newspapers several times a week. Newspaper readership correlated most with the mathematical skills of girls.
      "In addition to reading skills, reading newspapers promotes the development of other important abilities which are decisive in the learning of other information and skills", says Professor Pirjo Linnakylä of the University of Jyväskylä.
      Linnakylä and Dr. Antero Malin presented the study, commissioned by the Finnish Newspapers' Association, in Helsinki on Monday.
     
The experts said that newspapers should be favoured especially in supporting the learning efforts of young people, immigrants, and adults who are at risk of becoming marginalised.
      There is also a correlation between a willingness to read and the perception that school is beneficial, and how willing they are to go into further study.
      Reading newspapers among young people has remained largely unchanged in the past three years. About 60 percent of young people said in both 2000 and 2003 that they read newspapers several times a week.
     
One cause for concern was that kids in the heavily-populated southern region of Uusimaa read newspapers considerably less than those in other parts of Finland.
      City youth in general read newspapers less frequently than their rural counterparts. Young people in Central and Northern Finland also read online publications more often than those in Uusimaa.
     
Boys read online publications more actively than girls, even though there was not much of a gender gap in newspaper readership in general. Young immigrants were also more eager readers of online publications than native-born youths.
      There has been a considerable increase in reading online news since 2000, but as recently as 2003 it was still somewhat rare.
      Only five percent of 15-year-olds read online almost every day, and eight percent said that they did so a few times a week. Half of the 15-year-olds said that they never read online publications, and 15 percent said that they read them only a few times a month.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  High score by Finnish youngsters in mathematics surprises experts (7.12.2004)
  Finnish teens place number one in comparison of math skills (25.11.2004)
  OECD study: Finnish teenagers are best readers (5.12.2001)

Links:
  PISA website
  Finnish Newspapers´ Association: Reading newspapers supports learning in many ways

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