Italian elementary school pupils came tenth in a survey of reading standards in 35 countries, behind a top three of Sweden, Holland and England, and the United States in ninth place, but above Germany in 11th place and France in 18th. The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), a project of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), surveyed 150,000 students aged 9-10 and found their attitudes towards reading were generally positive. In all countries, girls in this age group had a significantly higher average achievement than boys.