READING COMPREHENSION IN PRIMARY SCHOOL: TEXTBOOKS, CURRICULUM, AND ASSESSMENT

This study describes the reading comprehension processes present in the most widely soldtextbooks at the fourth grade level in Portugal and discusses how they compare to international assessmentsof reading literacy. We adopted the Progress of International Reading Literacy Study framework tocategorize the questions in the textbooks. Our analyses revealed that they focus heavily on the retrieval ofexplicitly stated information to the detriment of higher level comprehension skills. Portuguese fourthgrade textbooks rarely challenge students to make connections between their knowledge and the ideas inthe texts and to adopt a critical and evaluative reading stance. This is in sharp contrast to what studentsare asked to do in the Progress of International Reading Literacy Study, conducted every five years since2001, and it may help explain the poor results Portuguese students have in national assessment and inPISA. The findings are discussed in light of the curriculum frameworks currently adopted in Portugal andsuggestions are made as to how we can improve reading literacy achievement.