Editing Phonics (section)

=== Portugal ===

During the late 1990s the whole language approach gained popularity in [[Portugal]], but in a non-explicit form. Emphasis was placed on meaning, reading for pleasure, and developing a critical approach to the texts. Explicit phonemic awareness and explicit training for reading fluency were considered outdated by some teachers' organizations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.app.pt/|title=Associação de Professores de Português: APP}}</ref>

Poor results in international comparisons led parents and schools to react to this approach and to insist on [[direct instruction]] methods. Later, during minister [[Nuno Crato]]'s tenure (2011–2015), who is known to be a vocal critic of constructivist approaches and a supporter of cognitive psychology findings, new standards ("metas") were put in place.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dge.mec.pt/portugues|title=Metas e Programas de Português}}</ref> The ministry convened a team led by a well-known specialist in reading, José Morais.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://apprendrealire.eklablog.com/jose-morais-neurosciences-cognitives-a107656892|title=José Morais}}</ref> This team introduced an explicit phonics teaching approach, putting emphasis on decoding and reading fluency.

Later, international evaluations [[TIMSS]] and [[PISA]] showed a sharp improvement in the areas of math, reading and science from 2006 to 2015. Portuguese students results raised to above [[OECD]] and IEA<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iea.nl|title=International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement}}</ref> averages, attaining the best results ever for Portugal. The PISA reading results moved from 472 to 498, above the United States at 497. However, by 2018 Portugal had dropped slightly to 492 and the United States had increased to 505. Some analysts explain these advances by the educational measures Portugal put in place: a more demanding curricula, the emphasis on direct teaching, standardized testing, less ability streaming, and explicit fluency training in reading and mathematics.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/news/international/21711247-reforming-education-slow-and-hard-eminently-possible-what-world-can-learn|title=Reforming education slow and hard, eminently possible, The Economist. 2016-12-10. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2020-04-30.|newspaper=[[The Economist]]}}</ref>

In 2016, amongst 50 countries, Portugal achieved the 30th highest score in Reading Literacy for students in their fourth year of school according to the [[Progress in International Reading Literacy Study]] (PIRLS).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://timssandpirls.bc.edu/pirls2016/international-results/pirls/student-achievement/pirls-achievement-results/|title=PIRLS reading achievement 2016}}</ref>