SINGAPORE pupils have scored better than their English-speaking peers from several countries, including England and the United States, in an international reading test.

About 7,000 Primary 4 pupils finished second in a field of 12 countries and provinces in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (Pirls). The test was administered in 2005, but the results were just released yesterday.

The exam required pupils to read two passages and answer multiple-choice and written-response questions.

Among those who took the test in English, the pupils from the Canadian province of Alberta topped the exams. Singapore children performed better than their peers from the other Canadian provinces, as well as the United States, England, New Zealand and Scotland.

Overall, some 215,000 Primary 4 pupils from 45 school systems around the world sat for the Pirls in several languages.

Singapore placed fourth overall, with an average score of 558, up from 528 the last time the test was administered in 2001.

In the 2001 test, Singapore pupils were placed 15th in a field of 35. Among the seven groups that took the test in English, Singapore came in sixth.

The Education Ministry said the results show that Singapore's approach to teaching English is progressing in the right direction.

A curriculum that emphasises reading fiction and non-fiction along with expanded early childhood education programmes are two possible reasons for the high scores, the ministry said.

Another could be the increasing number of primary school teachers with degrees. Currently about half of the primary school teachers are graduates, compared to 32 per cent in 2001.

But English-language experts and employers said schools should not become complacent.

They pointed out that Singapore students lag behind many countries in spoken and written English.

Associate Professor Kirpal Singh, who teaches creative thinking and literature at the Singapore Management University, said: 'As we go from being a knowledge economy to a creative economy, we need people who think beyond the literal to the metaphorical.'

He said youngsters need to be trained to grasp the subtext and hidden meanings in what they read and hear.

'At the moment, our youngsters lack these skills,' he said.

Employers such as Mr Peter Tan, 44, who runs an IT consultancy firm, said even the top graduates he hires cannot seem to get their ideas across effectively in a report or when giving a presentation.

A new curriculum, set to be introduced in 2009, should help solve some of those problems, said Mrs Lim Lai Cheng, deputy director in charge of languages and literature in the ministry's Curriculum Planning and Development Division.

The syllabus, which is on a trial run, will put more emphasis on spoken English. Debates, presentations and speech and drama sessions will be incorporated into classes, she said.

sandra@sph.com.sg