Enjoyment of reading

What is it?

Enjoyment of Reading is based on the number of children in Grade 3 and Grade 6 who self-reported that they enjoy reading “Most of the time” on the EQAO student questionnaire.

Why is it important?

Enjoying reading is an important prerequisite for developing reading skills. Students who enjoy reading are more likely to read often, which contributes to building their reading skills and abilities. Research has shown that students with strong reading skills also have better educational outcomes, particularly in areas where reading skills are important. Further, there is evidence that reading enjoyment is a stronger predictor of future proficiency in literacy than socioeconomic status (OECD, 2002).

What does it mean?

Approximately half of students in Grade 3 and Grade 6 enjoy reading most of the time. Figure 1 shows many schools Central and North Etobicoke where less than half of students reported enjoying reading. Figure 2 shows that girls enjoyed reading more than boys in both Grade 3 and in Grade 6. Figure 3 shows that children who have been in Canada for less than 2 years were less likely to enjoy reading, compared to Canadian-born children.

Figure 1: Percent of students who like to read by school, Grade 3, 2014