Do Assessment Practices Really Drive Literacy? A Cross-National Study Reveals Surprising Priorities

Do Assessment Practices Really Drive Literacy? A Cross-National Study Reveals Surprising Priorities | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Do Assessment Practices Really Drive Literacy? A Cross-National Study Reveals Surprising Priorities Ebrahim Mohammadpour, Seifolla Rahmani This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7576025/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 12 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study directly investigates the pivotal question of whether teacher assessment practices are the primary drivers of student literacy. Utilizing 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) data from Iran, Finland, and Singapore, this cross-national analysis of fourth-grade students reveals a surprising finding: individual student factors (gender, socioeconomic status, and early home literacy activities) exert a far more pronounced influence on literacy scores than the assessment methods themselves. Despite examining a range of common practices—including observations, oral questioning, tests, and projects—the analysis demonstrates that these strategies largely lacked a consistent correlation with literacy performance, challenging conventional assumptions about their effectiveness. A notable exception was project-based assessment in Singapore, which demonstrated a significant positive relationship. The study ultimately reveals a surprising set of priorities: variables such as school emphasis on academic success and teacher gender were identified as more significant contributors to achievement than assessment techniques across the three diverse contexts. These findings advocate for a nuanced understanding of educational effectiveness that prioritizes student-level support and cultural context over a singular focus on assessment tool selection. Social science/Education Biological sciences/Psychology Social science/Psychology student evaluation evaluation utilization evaluators evaluation methods students assessment practices Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 17 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 13 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 10 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 06 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 13 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 13 Apr, 2026 Editor invited by journal 06 Dec, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 30 Nov, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 29 Sep, 2025 First submitted to journal 29 Sep, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7576025","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":623491404,"identity":"9d562584-7c69-4b10-9b3f-65c3c96bfa7a","order_by":0,"name":"Ebrahim Mohammadpour","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA3ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACCQYGZgYDBmb74w1AnoEF8VrYGc4cAGmRIFYLAwM/w40EKJcQ4Jfuffi5oGCbNOPM51c3/CiQYOBv707Aq0VyznFj6RkGt42ZpXPKbvYAHSZx5uwGvFoMbqQxSPMY3E5mk85Ju8ED1GIgkYtfi/2NNObfQC31PZJn0m7+IUaLgUQaG8gWZgkJ9mO3ibJF4s4xNmuQFgOeHLbbMgYSPAT9wj+7jfk2zx+gFvbjz26++WMjx9/ei18LEuAxAJPEKgcB9gekqB4Fo2AUjIIRBABTvEGdnfeDlAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Farhangian University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ebrahim","middleName":"","lastName":"Mohammadpour","suffix":""},{"id":623491405,"identity":"5ce11ba2-07de-4518-a42a-8f75b1712262","order_by":1,"name":"Seifolla Rahmani","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Farhangian University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Seifolla","middleName":"","lastName":"Rahmani","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-09-09 17:08:11","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7576025/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7576025/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":107489036,"identity":"cb3ef541-a95e-4cd8-8982-482ae28129b9","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-22 02:46:31","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":428371,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"DoAssessmentPracticesReallyDriveLiteracyv61submi.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7576025/v1_covered_e88667b7-247b-4606-ad23-6b5e6c42595c.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Do Assessment Practices Really Drive Literacy? 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