CANBERRA, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Australia has risen six places in international literacy rankings released on Wednesday.
The Progress in International Reading Study (PIRS) ranked the reading rate of 10-year-old students from 50 countries.
Australia was ranked 21st, up from a ranking of 27 among 45 studied countries when the rankings were last compiled in 2011.
Russia, Singapore and China's Hong Kong were ranked the world's best three.
Every Australian state and territory improved in the rankings with the exception of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) which went backwards by 4 percent.
Simon Birmingham, Australia's Education Minister, welcomed the results but said there was more work to be done.
"This is an encouraging report card but it's also clear there's no room for complacency. Australian educators and policymakers must keep focused on what needs to be done to further boost student outcomes," Birmingham said in a media release on Wednesday.
"The new PIRLS results show that about one fifth of Year 4 students' reading was below the national proficient standard."
Australia's ranking was in the middle band on par with the U.S. and Canada but ahead of New Zealand, France and Spain.
However, the study found that 20 percent of Australian students were failing to reach the international benchmark.
Sue Thomson, deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Australian Council for Education Research, said she was pleased by the results.
"PIRLS 2016 shows that 81 percent of Australian Year 4 students are achieving at or above the Intermediate benchmark, the proficient standard for Australia, compared to 76 percent in 2011, with more students achieving at the High or Advanced benchmark," Thomson said in a media release on Wednesday.
"The improvement in the literacy achievement of Australian Year 4 students in PIRLS is broadly consistent with the observation that Year 3 reading levels in National Assessment Program, Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) have been improving nationally since 2008."
Victoria was the best-performing state with 86 percent of students reaching the international reading benchmark followed by the ACT (82 percent) and New South Wales (81 percent).
South Australia and the Northern Territory had the worst results, both with 75 percent of students meeting international benchmarks.
