25 July, 2022

Renaissance study reveals reading habits of over 3,100 Egypt school pupils


Major study from Renaissance Learning reveals the most popular authors of students in Egypt


Cairo, Egypt, 25 July 2022: The annual ‘What Kids Are Reading Report’ from learning and assessment provider Renaissance Learning reveals reading trends among students in Egypt. 

The study of over 3,100 pupils across Egypt shows that pupils read books that matched the increased difficulty found in last year’s report, while comprehension levels remained consistent, reflecting the increased efforts among schools to foster a love for reading. 


The report highlights that the reading comprehension of students in Egypt was higher than those in UK, where English is the first language for the majority of students. As last year, Egypt showed much more variation in difficulty than the UK, from a book at average book difficulty (ATOS) 1.4 by Gwendolyn Hooks through to high readability books by J.K. Rowling.


Favourite books and authors 


Readers can vote for their favourite books after finishing the book. Amanda Doering Tourville dominated the list of favourite books within schools in Egypt, with three books in the list, including the top two spots. Her most popular books were Manners at a Friend’s House, Go Wash Up: Keeping Clean and Manners on the School Bus. 


Carrie Finn too had three books in the list, with Manners in Public taking the third spot overall. Other books on the list included Manners at School and Manners on the Playground.

Roderick Hunt, Roald Dahl and Jeff Kinney all disappeared from the list this year.


The ‘What Kids Are Reading Report’ was written using Renaissance data analysed by University of Dundee academic Professor Keith Topping. Professor Topping, the principal author of this report, is also the author of the upcoming publication about Accelerated Reader, a guided, independent reading programme by Renaissance that motivates primary students to read for pleasure. 

Professor Keith Topping comments: “With schools returning to normal operations and occupancy, Accelerated Reader has continued to maintain and even increase reading activity in children and young people. We see clearly from the evidence that time spent reading books is crucial to improved reading skill, an essential transferable skill for the future. Children with high quality comprehension of real books also perform better on tests of reading skill. This is excellent, but more attention to communicating favourite books between peers would increase it even further.”


John Moore, Managing Director of Renaissance said: “We know books and reading have provided millions of pupils with comfort and escapism and we’re delighted to see this passion continuing, with pupils overall reading many more books over the last academic year. 


“At Renaissance we understand the important role reading plays not only in a child’s learning, but also in their overall development and wellbeing. Books have never been more accessible than they are today, from visiting local libraries and bookstores to accessing books on myON or Accelerated Reader. This report highlights how important it is that everyone has access to a wide range of books that ignite their own personal passions so each child gets the most out of the opportunities for development that a love of reading can embed.” 


A copy of the full report can be found here: https://intl.renaissance.com/what-kids-are-reading-report-2022/


=