Study and analysis of the level of reading literacy among students of pedagogical university

Introduction . Scientific novelty of the study lies in the development of the author’s bank of tests for diagnosing students’ reading literacy, as well as in conducting a comprehensive study aimed at identifying the level of this type of literacy among 1st-year students of a pedagogical university. Purpose setting . Objective of the article is to study the level of reading literacy of students of pedagogical universities. Methodology and methods of the study . Methods of the study are theoretical analysis includes a review and generalization of scientific research on the problems of functional and reading literacy, as well as an analysis of regulatory documents and international studies (PISA, PIAAC, TIMSS). The testing method involves measuring the level of students’ reading literacy using specially developed tests. Methods of quantitative and qualitative data analysis are focused on processing and interpreting the test results. Results . Pedagogical diagnostics showed significant differences in the level of development of students’ reading literacy. The greatest success was achieved in the component «finding and extracting information», but significant difficulties were revealed in the components «integrating and interpreting information» and «evaluating the content and form of the text». A particularly low level was shown in critical evaluation of the text and the use of information to solve practical problems, which requires additional attention in pedagogical practice. Conclusion . Practical significance of the study lies in the fact that the presented theoretical provisions, identified patterns and proposed methods can be used in the development of educational programs for pedagogical universities, as well as in the practice of training future teachers in order to improve their professional competence.