Programme for International Student Assessment

Scholastic performance study by the OECD

"PISA" redirects here. For other uses, see Pisa (disambiguation).

Programme for International Student AssessmentAbbreviation| PISA

|

Formation| 1997
Purpose| Comparison of education attainment across the world
Headquarters| OECD Headquarters
Location|

* 2 rue André Pascal, 75775 Paris Cedex 16

Region served

| World
Membership| 79 government education departments

Official language

| English and French

Head of the Early Childhood and Schools Division

| Yuri Belfali

Main organ

| PISA Governing Body (Chair – Michele Bruniges)

Parent organization

| OECD
Website| www.oecd.org/pisa/

PISA average scores (2022)

Mathematics

Science

Reading

Score is higher than 549

Score equal to or between 500 and 549

Score equal to or between 450 and 499

Score equal to or between 400 and 449

Score equal to or between 350 and 399

Score is less than 345

No data

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a worldwide study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in member and non-member nations intended to evaluate educational systems by measuring 15-year-old school pupils' scholastic performance on mathematics, science, and reading.[1] It was first performed in 2000 and then repeated every three years. Its aim is to provide comparable data with a view to enabling countries to improve their education policies and outcomes. It measures problem solving and cognition.[2]

The results of the 2022 data collection were released in December 2023.[3]

## Influence and impact

[edit]

PISA, and similar international standardised assessments of educational attainment are increasingly used in the process of education policymaking at both national and international levels.[4]

PISA was conceived to set in a wider context the information provided by national monitoring of education system performance through regular assessments within a common, internationally agreed framework; by investigating relationships between student learning and other factors they can "offer insights into sources of variation in performances within and between countries".[5]

Until the 1990s, few European countries used national tests. In the 1990s, ten countries / regions introduced standardised assessment, and since the early 2000s, ten more followed suit. By 2009, only five European education systems had no national student assessments.[4]

The impact of these international standardised assessments in the field of educational policy has been significant, in terms of the creation of new knowledge, changes in assessment policy, and external influence over national educational policy more broadly.[6][7][8]

### Creation of new knowledge

[edit]

Data from international standardised assessments can be useful in research on causal factors within or across education systems.[4] Mons notes that the databases generated by large-scale international assessments have made it possible to carry out inventories and comparisons of education systems on an unprecedented scale[note 1] on themes ranging from the conditions for learning mathematics and reading, to institutional autonomy and admissions policies.[9] They allow typologies to be developed that can be used for comparative statistical analyses of education performance indicators, thereby identifying the consequences of different policy choices. They have generated new knowledge about education: PISA findings have challenged deeply embedded educational practices, such as the early tracking of students into vocational or academic pathways.[10]

Barroso and de Carvalho find that PISA provides a common reference connecting academic research in education and the political realm of public policy, operating as a mediator between different strands of knowledge from the realm of education and public policy.[11] However, although the key findings from comparative assessments are widely shared in the research community[4] the knowledge they create does not necessarily fit with government reform agendas; this leads to some inappropriate uses of assessment data.

### Changes in national assessment policy

[edit]

Emerging research suggests that international standardised assessments are having an impact on national assessment policy and practice. PISA is being integrated into national policies and practices on assessment, evaluation, curriculum standards and performance targets; its assessment frameworks and instruments are being used as best-practice models for improving national assessments; many countries have explicitly incorporated and emphasise PISA-like competencies in revised national standards and curricula; others use PISA data to complement national data and validate national results against an international benchmark.[10]

### External influence over national educational policy

[edit]

PISA may influence national education policy choices in a variety of ways. Participation in international assessments like PISA has been linked to significant education policy changes and outcomes, such as higher student enrollments and education reforms.[6] However, critics have argued that participation could lead to undesirable outcomes, such as higher repetition rates and narrowing of curricula.[7] The impact of PISA may also vary according to the specific country context.[12]

Policy-makers in most participating countries see PISA as an important indicator of system performance; PISA reports can define policy problems and set the agenda for national policy debate; policymakers seem to accept PISA as a valid and reliable instrument for internationally benchmarking system performance and changes over time; most countries—irrespective of whether they performed above, at, or below the average PISA score—have begun policy reforms in response to PISA reports.[10]

Against this, impact on national education systems varies markedly. For example, in Germany, the results of the first PISA assessment caused the so-called 'PISA shock': a questioning of previously accepted educational policies; in a state marked by jealously guarded regional policy differences, it led ultimately to an agreement by all Länder to introduce common national standards and even an institutionalised structure to ensure that they were observed.[13] In Hungary, by comparison, which shared similar conditions to Germany, PISA results have not led to significant changes in educational policy.[14]

Because many countries have set national performance targets based on their relative rank or absolute PISA score, PISA assessments have increased the influence of their (non-elected) commissioning body, the OECD, as an international education monitor and policy actor, which implies an important degree of 'policy transfer' from the international to the national level; PISA in particular is having "an influential normative effect on the direction of national education policies".[10] Thus, it is argued that the use of international standardised assessments has led to a shift towards international, external accountability for national system performance; Rey contends that PISA surveys, portrayed as objective, third-party diagnoses of education systems, actually serve to promote specific orientations on educational issues.[4]

National policy actors refer to high-performing PISA countries to "help legitimise and justify their intended reform agenda within contested national policy debates".[15] PISA data can be "used to fuel long-standing debates around pre-existing conflicts or rivalries between different policy options, such as in the French Community of Belgium".[16] In such instances, PISA assessment data are used selectively: in public discourse governments often only use superficial features of PISA surveys such as country rankings and not the more detailed analyses. Rey (2010:145, citing Greger, 2008) notes that often the real results of PISA assessments are ignored as policymakers selectively refer to data in order to legitimise policies introduced for other reasons.[17]

In addition, PISA's international comparisons can be used to justify reforms with which the data themselves have no connection; in Portugal, for example, PISA data were used to justify new arrangements for teacher assessment (based on inferences that were not justified by the assessments and data themselves); they also fed the government's discourse about the issue of pupils repeating a year, (which, according to research, fails to improve student results).[18] In Finland, the country's PISA results (that are in other countries deemed to be excellent) were used by Ministers to promote new policies for 'gifted' students.[19] Such uses and interpretations often assume causal relationships that cannot legitimately be based upon PISA data which would normally require fuller investigation through qualitative in-depth studies and longitudinal surveys based on mixed quantitative and qualitative methods,[20] which politicians are often reluctant to fund.

Recent decades have witnessed an expansion in the uses of PISA and similar assessments, from assessing students' learning, to connecting "the educational realm (their traditional remit) with the political realm".[21] This raises the question of whether PISA data are sufficiently robust to bear the weight of the major policy decisions that are being based upon them, for, according to Breakspear, PISA data have "come to increasingly shape, define and evaluate the key goals of the national / federal education system".[10] This implies that those who set the PISA tests – e.g. in choosing the content to be assessed and not assessed – are in a position of considerable power to set the terms of the education debate, and to orient educational reform in many countries around the globe.[10]

## Framework

[edit]

PISA stands in a tradition of international school studies, undertaken since the late 1950s by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). Much of PISA's methodology follows the example of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS, started in 1995), which in turn was much influenced by the U.S. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The reading component of PISA is inspired by the IEA's Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS).

PISA aims to test literacy of students in three competence fields: reading, mathematics, science on an indefinite scale.[22]

The PISA mathematics literacy test asks students to apply their mathematical knowledge to solve problems set in real-world contexts. To solve the problems students must activate a number of mathematical competencies as well as a broad range of mathematical content knowledge. TIMSS, on the other hand, measures more traditional classroom content such as an understanding of fractions and decimals and the relationship between them (curriculum attainment). PISA claims to measure education's application to real-life problems and lifelong learning (workforce knowledge).

In the reading test, "OECD/PISA does not measure the extent to which 15-year-old students are fluent readers or how competent they are at word recognition tasks or spelling." Instead, they should be able to "construct, extend and reflect on the meaning of what they have read across a wide range of continuous and non-continuous texts."[23]

PISA also assesses students in innovative domains. In 2012 and 2015 in addition to reading, mathematics and science, they were tested in collaborative problem solving. In 2018 the additional innovative domain was global competence.

## Implementation

[edit]

PISA is sponsored, governed, and coordinated by the OECD, but paid for by participating countries.[citation needed]

## Method of testing

[edit]

### Sampling

[edit]

The students tested by PISA are aged between 15 years and 3 months and 16 years and 2 months at the beginning of the assessment period. The school year pupils are in is not taken into consideration. Only students at school are tested, not home-schoolers. In PISA 2006, however, several countries also used a grade-based sample of students. This made it possible to study how age and school year interact.

To fulfill OECD requirements, each country must draw a sample of at least 5,000 students. In small countries like Iceland and Luxembourg, where there are fewer than 5,000 students per year, an entire age cohort is tested. Some countries used much larger samples than required to allow comparisons between regions.

### Test

[edit]

PISA test documents on a school table (Neues Gymnasium, Oldenburg, Germany, 2006)

Each student takes a two-hour computer based test. Part of the test is multiple-choice and part involves fuller answers. There are six and a half hours of assessment material, but each student is not tested on all the parts. Following the cognitive test, participating students spend nearly one more hour answering a questionnaire on their background including learning habits, motivation, and family. School directors fill in a questionnaire describing school demographics, funding, etc. In 2012 the participants were, for the first time in the history of large-scale testing and assessments, offered a new type of problem, i.e. interactive (complex) problems requiring exploration of a novel virtual device.[24][25]

In selected countries, PISA started experimentation with computer adaptive testing.

### National add-ons

[edit]

Countries are allowed to combine PISA with complementary national tests.

Germany does this in a very extensive way: On the day following the international test, students take a national test called PISA-E [de] (E=Ergänzung=complement). Test items of PISA-E are closer to TIMSS than to PISA. While only about 5,000 German students participate in the international and the national test, another 45,000 take the national test only. This large sample is needed to allow an analysis by federal states. Following a clash about the interpretation of 2006 results, the OECD warned Germany that it might withdraw the right to use the "PISA" label for national tests.[26]

### Data scaling

[edit]

From the beginning, PISA has been designed with one particular method of data analysis in mind. Since students work on different test booklets, raw scores must be 'scaled' to allow meaningful comparisons. Scores are thus scaled so that the OECD average in each domain (mathematics, reading and science) is 500 and the standard deviation is 100.[27] This is true only for the initial PISA cycle when the scale was first introduced, though, subsequent cycles are linked to the previous cycles through IRT scale linking methods.[28]

This generation of proficiency estimates is done using a latent regression extension of the Rasch model, a model of item response theory (IRT), also known as conditioning model or population model. The proficiency estimates are provided in the form of so-called plausible values, which allow unbiased estimates of differences between groups. The latent regression, together with the use of a Gaussian prior probability distribution of student competencies allows estimation of the proficiency distributions of groups of participating students.[29] The scaling and conditioning procedures are described in nearly identical terms in the Technical Reports of PISA 2000, 2003, 2006. NAEP and TIMSS use similar scaling methods.

## Ranking results

[edit]

All PISA results are tabulated by country; recent PISA cycles have separate provincial or regional results for some countries. Most public attention concentrates on just one outcome: the mean scores of countries and their rankings of countries against one another. In the official reports, however, country-by-country rankings are given not as simple league tables but as cross tables indicating for each pair of countries whether or not mean score differences are statistically significant (unlikely to be due to random fluctuations in student sampling or in item functioning). In favorable cases, a difference of 9 points is sufficient to be considered significant.[citation needed]

PISA never combines mathematics, science and reading domain scores into an overall score. However, commentators have sometimes combined test results from all three domains into an overall country ranking. Such meta-analysis is not endorsed by the OECD, although official summaries sometimes use scores from a testing cycle's principal domain as a proxy for overall student ability.

### PISA 2022 ranking summary

[edit]

The results of PISA 2022 were presented on 5 December 2023, which included data for around 700,000 participating students in 81 countries and economies, with Singapore emerging as the top performer in all categories.[30]

Both Lebanon and the Chinese provinces/municipalities of Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang participated this edition, but their results were not published as they were not able to fully collect data because of COVID restrictions.[31]

Because of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, only 18 of 27 Ukrainian regions had their data collected, thus the results are not representative of the following regions: Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Donetsk Oblast, Kharkiv Oblast, Luhansk Oblast, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Kherson Oblast, Mykolaiv Oblast, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.[32]

Mathematics[30] | Science[30] | Reading[30]

|
|

| 1  |  Singapore | 575

|
|

2  |  Macau | 552
3  |  Taiwan | 547
4  |  Hong Kong | 540
5  |  Japan | 536
6  |  South Korea | 527
7  |  Estonia | 510
8  |   Switzerland | 508
9  |  Canada | 497
10  |  Netherlands | 493
11  |  Ireland | 492
12  |  Belgium | 489
13  |  Denmark | 489
14  |  United Kingdom | 489
15  |  Poland | 489
16  |  Australia | 487
17  |  Austria | 487
18  |  Czech Republic | 487
19  |  Slovenia | 485
20  |  Finland | 484
21  |  Latvia | 483
22  |  Sweden | 482
23  |  New Zealand | 479
24  |  Germany | 475
25  |  Lithuania | 475
26  |  France | 474
27  |  Spain | 473
28  |  Hungary | 473
29  |  Portugal | 472
| International Average (OECD) | 472
30  |  Italy | 471
31  |  Vietnam | 469
32  |  Norway | 468
33  |  Malta | 466
34  |  United States | 465
35  |  Slovakia | 464
36  |  Croatia | 463
37  |  Iceland | 459
38  |  Israel | 458
39  |  Turkey | 453
40  |  Brunei | 442
41  |  Ukraine | 441
42  |  Serbia | 440
43  |  United Arab Emirates | 431
44  |  Greece | 430
45  |  Romania | 428
46  |  Kazakhstan | 425
47  |  Mongolia | 425
48  |  Cyprus | 418
49  |  Bulgaria | 417
50  |  Moldova | 417
51  |  Qatar | 414
52  |  Chile | 412
53  |  Uruguay | 409
54  |  Malaysia | 409
55  |  Montenegro | 406
56  |  Azerbaijan | 397
57  |  Mexico | 395
58  |  Thailand | 394
59  |  Peru | 391
60  |  Georgia | 390
61  |  North Macedonia | 389
62  |  Saudi Arabia | 389
63  |  Costa Rica | 385
64  |  Colombia | 383
65  |  Brazil | 379
66  |  Argentina | 378
67  |  Jamaica | 377
68  |  Albania | 368
69  |  Indonesia | 366
70  |  Palestinian Authority | 366
71  |  Morocco | 365
72  |  Uzbekistan | 364
73  |  Jordan | 361
74  |  Panama | 357
75  |  Kosovo | 355
76  |  Philippines | 355
77  |  Guatemala | 344
78  |  El Salvador | 343
79  |  Dominican Republic | 339
80  |  Paraguay | 338
81  |  Cambodia | 336
| 1  |  Singapore | 561

|
|

2  |  Japan | 547
3  |  Macau | 543
4  |  Taiwan | 537
5  |  South Korea | 528
6  |  Estonia | 526
7  |  Hong Kong | 520
8  |  Canada | 515
9  |  Finland | 511
10  |  Australia | 507
11  |  Ireland | 504
12  |  New Zealand | 504
13  |   Switzerland | 503
14  |  Slovenia | 500
15  |  United Kingdom | 500
16  |  United States | 499
17  |  Poland | 499
18  |  Czech Republic | 498
19  |  Denmark | 494
20  |  Latvia | 494
21  |  Sweden | 494
22  |  Germany | 492
23  |  Austria | 491
24  |  Belgium | 491
25  |  Netherlands | 488
26  |  France | 487
27  |  Hungary | 486
28  |  Spain | 485
29  | International Average (OECD) | 485
|  Lithuania | 484
30  |  Portugal | 484
31  |  Croatia | 483
32  |  Norway | 478
33  |  Italy | 477
34  |  Turkey | 476
35  |  Vietnam | 472
36  |  Malta | 466
37  |  Israel | 465
38  |  Slovakia | 462
39  |  Ukraine | 450
40  |  Iceland | 447
41  |  Serbia | 447
42  |  Brunei | 446
43  |  Chile | 444
44  |  Greece | 441
45  |  Uruguay | 435
46  |  United Arab Emirates | 432
47  |  Qatar | 432
48  |  Romania | 428
49  |  Kazakhstan | 423
50  |  Bulgaria | 421
51  |  Moldova | 417
52  |  Malaysia | 416
53  |  Mongolia | 412
54  |  Cyprus | 411
55  |  Colombia | 411
56  |  Costa Rica | 411
57  |  Mexico | 410
58  |  Thailand | 409
59  |  Peru | 408
60  |  Argentina | 406
61  |  Brazil | 403
62  |  Jamaica | 403
63  |  Montenegro | 403
64  |  Saudi Arabia | 390
65  |  Panama | 388
66  |  Georgia | 384
67  |  Indonesia | 383
68  |  Azerbaijan | 380
69  |  North Macedonia | 380
70  |  Albania | 376
71  |  Jordan | 375
72  |  El Salvador | 374
73  |  Guatemala | 373
74  |  Palestinian Authority | 369
75  |  Paraguay | 368
76  |  Morocco | 365
77  |  Dominican Republic | 360
78  |  Kosovo | 357
79  |  Philippines | 356
80  |  Uzbekistan | 355
81  |  Cambodia | 347
| 1  |  Singapore | 543

|
|

2  |  Ireland | 516
3  |  Japan | 516
4  |  South Korea | 515
5  |  Taiwan | 515
6  |  Estonia | 511
7  |  Macau | 510
8  |  Canada | 507
9  |  United States | 504
10  |  New Zealand | 501
11  |  Hong Kong | 500
12  |  Australia | 498
13  |  United Kingdom | 494
14  |  Finland | 490
15  |  Denmark | 489
16  |  Poland | 489
17  |  Czech Republic | 489
18  |  Sweden | 487
19  |   Switzerland | 483
20  |  Italy | 482
21  |  Germany | 480
22  |  Austria | 480
23  |  Belgium | 479
24  |  Norway | 477
25  |  Portugal | 477
26  | International Average (OECD) | 476
27  |  Croatia | 475
28  |  Latvia | 475
29  |  Spain | 474
|  France | 474
30  |  Israel | 474
31  |  Hungary | 473
32  |  Lithuania | 472
33  |  Slovenia | 469
34  |  Vietnam | 462
35  |  Netherlands | 459
36  |  Turkey | 456
37  |  Chile | 448
38  |  Slovakia | 447
39  |  Malta | 445
40  |  Serbia | 440
41  |  Greece | 438
42  |  Iceland | 436
43  |  Uruguay | 430
44  |  Brunei | 429
45  |  Romania | 428
46  |  Ukraine | 428
47  |  Qatar | 419
48  |  United Arab Emirates | 417
49  |  Costa Rica | 415
50  |  Mexico | 415
51  |  Moldova | 411
52  |  Brazil | 410
53  |  Jamaica | 410
54  |  Colombia | 409
55  |  Peru | 408
56  |  Montenegro | 405
57  |  Bulgaria | 404
58  |  Argentina | 401
59  |  Panama | 392
60  |  Malaysia | 388
61  |  Kazakhstan | 386
62  |  Saudi Arabia | 383
63  |  Cyprus | 381
64  |  Thailand | 379
65  |  Mongolia | 378
66  |  Georgia | 374
67  |  Guatemala | 374
68  |  Paraguay | 373
69  |  Azerbaijan | 365
70  |  El Salvador | 365
71  |  Indonesia | 359
72  |  North Macedonia | 359
73  |  Albania | 358
74  |  Dominican Republic | 351
75  |  Palestinian Authority | 349
76  |  Philippines | 347
77  |  Jordan | 342
78  |  Kosovo | 342
79  |  Morocco | 339
80  |  Uzbekistan | 336
81  |  Cambodia | 329

### Rankings comparison 2000–2022

[edit]

Mathematics

Country  | 2022[33] | 2018[34] | 2015  | 2012  | 2009  | 2006  | 2003  | 2000
Score  | Rank  | Score  | Rank  | Score  | Rank  | Score  | Rank  | Score  | Rank  | Score  | Rank  | Score  | Rank  | Score  | Rank
International Average (OECD)  | 472  | —  | 489  | —  | 490  | —  | 494  | —  | 495  | —  | 494  | —  | 499  | —  | 492  | —
Albania | 368  | 68  | 437  | 48  | 413  | 57  | 394  | 54  | 377  | 53  | —  | —  | —  | —  | 381  | 33
Algeria | —  | —  | —  | —  | 360  | 72  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Argentina | 378  | 66  | 379  | 71  | 409  | 58  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | 388  | 30
Australia | 487  | 17  | 491  | 29  | 494  | 25  | 504  | 17  | 514  | 13  | 520  | 12  | 524  | 10  | 533  | 6
Austria | 487  | 16  | 499  | 23  | 497  | 20  | 506  | 16  | 496  | 22  | 505  | 17  | 506  | 18  | 503  | 12
China B-S-J-G[a] | —  | —  | —  | —  | 531  | 6  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
China B-S-J-Z[b] | —  | —  | 591  | 1  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Azerbaijan Baku | 397  | 56  | 420  | 56  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Belarus | —  | —  | 472  | 38  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Belgium | 489  | 12  | 508  | 15  | 507  | 15  | 515  | 13  | 515  | 12  | 520  | 11  | 529  | 7  | 520  | 8
Bosnia and Herzegovina | —  | —  | 406  | 62  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Brazil | 379  | 65  | 384  | 70  | 377  | 68  | 389  | 55  | 386  | 51  | 370  | 50  | 356  | 39  | 334  | 35
Brunei | 442  | 40  | 430  | 51  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Bulgaria | 417  | 49  | 436  | 49  | 441  | 47  | 439  | 43  | 428  | 41  | 413  | 43  | —  | —  | 430  | 28
Argentina CABA[c] | —  | —  | —  | —  | 456  | 43  | 418  | 49  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Cambodia | 336  | 81  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Canada | 497  | 9  | 512  | 12  | 516  | 10  | 518  | 11  | 527  | 8  | 527  | 7  | 532  | 6  | 533  | 6
Chile | 412  | 52  | 417  | 59  | 423  | 50  | 423  | 47  | 421  | 44  | 411  | 44  | —  | —  | 384  | 32
Taiwan | 547  | 3  | 531  | 5  | 542  | 4  | 560  | 3  | 543  | 4  | 549  | 1  | —  | —  | —  | —
Colombia | 383  | 64  | 391  | 69  | 390  | 64  | 376  | 58  | 381  | 52  | 370  | 49  | —  | —  | —  | —
Costa Rica | 385  | 63  | 402  | 63  | 400  | 62  | 407  | 53  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Croatia | 463  | 36  | 464  | 40  | 464  | 41  | 471  | 38  | 460  | 38  | 467  | 34  | —  | —  | —  | —
Cyprus | 418  | 48  | 451  | 45  | 437  | 48  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Czech Republic | 487  | 18  | 499  | 22  | 492  | 28  | 499  | 22  | 493  | 25  | 510  | 15  | 516  | 12  | 498  | 14
Denmark | 489  | 13  | 509  | 13  | 511  | 12  | 500  | 20  | 503  | 17  | 513  | 14  | 514  | 14  | 514  | 10
Dominican Republic | 339  | 79  | 325  | 78  | 328  | 73  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
El Salvador | 343  | 78  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Estonia | 510  | 7  | 523  | 8  | 520  | 9  | 521  | 9  | 512  | 15  | 515  | 13  | —  | —  | —  | —
Finland | 484  | 20  | 507  | 16  | 511  | 13  | 519  | 10  | 541  | 5  | 548  | 2  | 544  | 2  | 536  | 5
France | 474  | 26  | 495  | 25  | 493  | 26  | 495  | 23  | 497  | 20  | 496  | 22  | 511  | 15  | 517  | 9
Georgia | 390  | 60  | 398  | 66  | 404  | 60  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Germany | 475  | 25  | 500  | 20  | 506  | 16  | 514  | 14  | 513  | 14  | 504  | 19  | 503  | 19  | 490  | 16
Greece | 430  | 44  | 451  | 44  | 454  | 44  | 453  | 40  | 466  | 37  | 459  | 37  | 445  | 32  | 447  | 24
Guatemala | 344  | 77  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Hong Kong | 540  | 4  | 551  | 4  | 548  | 2  | 561  | 2  | 555  | 2  | 547  | 3  | 550  | 1  | 560  | 1
Hungary | 473  | 28  | 481  | 36  | 477  | 37  | 477  | 37  | 490  | 27  | 491  | 26  | 490  | 25  | 488  | 17
Iceland | 459  | 37  | 495  | 26  | 488  | 31  | 493  | 25  | 507  | 16  | 506  | 16  | 515  | 13  | 514  | 10
Indonesia | 366  | 70  | 379  | 72  | 386  | 66  | 375  | 60  | 371  | 55  | 391  | 47  | 360  | 37  | 367  | 34
Ireland | 492  | 11  | 500  | 21  | 504  | 18  | 501  | 18  | 487  | 30  | 501  | 21  | 503  | 20  | 503  | 12
Israel | 458  | 38  | 463  | 41  | 470  | 39  | 466  | 39  | 447  | 39  | 442  | 38  | —  | —  | 433  | 26
Italy | 471  | 30  | 487  | 31  | 490  | 30  | 485  | 30  | 483  | 33  | 462  | 36  | 466  | 31  | 457  | 22
Jamaica | 377  | 67  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Japan | 536  | 5  | 527  | 6  | 532  | 5  | 536  | 6  | 529  | 7  | 523  | 9  | 534  | 5  | 557  | 2
Jordan | 361  | 73  | 400  | 65  | 380  | 67  | 386  | 57  | 387  | 50  | 384  | 48  | —  | —  | —  | —
Kazakhstan | 425  | 46  | 423  | 54  | 460  | 42  | 432  | 45  | 405  | 48  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
South Korea | 527  | 6  | 526  | 7  | 524  | 7  | 554  | 4  | 546  | 3  | 547  | 4  | 542  | 3  | 547  | 3
Kosovo | 355  | 75  | 366  | 75  | 362  | 71  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Latvia | 483  | 21  | 496  | 24  | 482  | 34  | 491  | 26  | 482  | 34  | 486  | 30  | 483  | 27  | 463  | 21
Lebanon | —  | —  | 393  | 68  | 396  | 63  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Lithuania | 475  | 24  | 481  | 35  | 478  | 36  | 479  | 35  | 477  | 35  | 486  | 29  | —  | —  | —  | —
Luxembourg | —  | —  | 483  | 33  | 486  | 33  | 490  | 27  | 489  | 28  | 490  | 27  | 493  | 23  | 446  | 25
Macau | 552  | 2  | 558  | 3  | 544  | 3  | 538  | 5  | 525  | 10  | 525  | 8  | 527  | 8  | —  | —
Malaysia | 409  | 54  | 440  | 47  | 446  | 45  | 421  | 48  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Malta | 466  | 33  | 472  | 39  | 479  | 35  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Mexico | 395  | 57  | 409  | 61  | 408  | 59  | 413  | 50  | 419  | 46  | 406  | 45  | 385  | 36  | 387  | 31
Moldova | 414  | 50  | 421  | 55  | 420  | 52  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Mongolia | 425  | 47  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Montenegro | 406  | 55  | 430  | 53  | 418  | 54  | 410  | 51  | 403  | 49  | 399  | 46  | —  | —  | —  | —
Morocco | 365  | 71  | 368  | 74  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Netherlands | 493  | 10  | 519  | 9  | 512  | 11  | 523  | 8  | 526  | 9  | 531  | 5  | 538  | 4  | —  | —
New Zealand | 479  | 23  | 494  | 27  | 495  | 21  | 500  | 21  | 519  | 11  | 522  | 10  | 523  | 11  | 537  | 4
Macedonia | 389  | 62  | 394  | 67  | 371  | 69  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | 381  | 33
Norway | 468  | 32  | 501  | 19  | 502  | 19  | 489  | 28  | 498  | 19  | 490  | 28  | 495  | 22  | 499  | 13
Palestinian Authority | 366  | 69  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Panama | 357  | 74  | 353  | 76  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Paraguay | 338  | 80  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Peru | 391  | 59  | 400  | 64  | 387  | 65  | 368  | 61  | 365  | 57  | —  | —  | —  | —  | 292  | 36
Philippines | 355  | 76  | 353  | 77  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Poland | 489  | 15  | 516  | 10  | 504  | 17  | 518  | 12  | 495  | 23  | 495  | 24  | 490  | 24  | 470  | 20
Portugal | 472  | 29  | 492  | 28  | 492  | 29  | 487  | 29  | 487  | 31  | 466  | 35  | 466  | 30  | 454  | 23
Qatar | 414  | 51  | 414  | 60  | 402  | 61  | 376  | 59  | 368  | 56  | 318  | 52  | —  | —  | —  | —
Romania | 428  | 45  | 430  | 52  | 444  | 46  | 445  | 42  | 427  | 42  | 415  | 42  | —  | —  | 426  | 29
Russia | —  | —  | 488  | 30  | 494  | 23  | 482  | 32  | 468  | 36  | 476  | 32  | 468  | 29  | 478  | 18
Serbia | 440  | 42  | 448  | 46  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Saudi Arabia | 389  | 61  | 373  | 73  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Singapore | 575  | 1  | 569  | 2  | 564  | 1  | 573  | 1  | 562  | 1  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Slovakia | 464  | 35  | 486  | 32  | 475  | 38  | 482  | 33  | 497  | 21  | 492  | 25  | 498  | 21  | —  | —
Slovenia | 485  | 19  | 509  | 14  | 510  | 14  | 501  | 19  | 501  | 18  | 504  | 18  | —  | —  | —  | —
Spain | 473  | 27  | 481  | 34  | 486  | 32  | 484  | 31  | 483  | 32  | 480  | 31  | 485  | 26  | 476  | 19
Sweden | 482  | 22  | 502  | 17  | 494  | 24  | 478  | 36  | 494  | 24  | 502  | 20  | 509  | 16  | 510  | 11
Switzerland | 508  | 8  | 515  | 11  | 521  | 8  | 531  | 7  | 534  | 6  | 530  | 6  | 527  | 9  | 529  | 7
Thailand | 394  | 58  | 419  | 57  | 415  | 56  | 427  | 46  | 419  | 45  | 417  | 41  | 417  | 35  | 432  | 27
Trinidad and Tobago | —  | —  | —  | —  | 417  | 55  | —  | —  | 414  | 47  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Tunisia | —  | —  | —  | —  | 367  | 70  | 388  | 56  | 371  | 54  | 365  | 51  | 359  | 38  | —  | —
Turkey | 453  | 39  | 454  | 42  | 420  | 51  | 448  | 41  | 445  | 40  | 424  | 40  | 423  | 33  | —  | —
Ukraine[d] | 441  | 41  | 453  | 43  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
United Arab Emirates | 431  | 43  | 435  | 50  | 427  | 49  | 434  | 44  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
United Kingdom | 489  | 14  | 502  | 18  | 492  | 27  | 494  | 24  | 492  | 26  | 495  | 23  | 508  | 17  | 529  | 7
United States | 465  | 34  | 478  | 37  | 470  | 40  | 481  | 34  | 487  | 29  | 474  | 33  | 483  | 28  | 493  | 15
Uruguay | 409  | 53  | 418  | 58  | 418  | 53  | 409  | 52  | 427  | 43  | 427  | 39  | 422  | 34  | —  | —
Uzbekistan | 364  | 72  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Vietnam | 469  | 31  | —  | —  | 495  | 22  | 511  | 15  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Science

Country  | 2022[33] | 2018[34] | 2015  | 2012  | 2009  | 2006
Score  | Rank  | Score  | Rank  | Score  | Rank  | Score  | Rank  | Score  | Rank  | Score  | Rank
International Average (OECD)  | 485  | —  | 489  | —  | 493  | —  | 501  | —  | 501  | —  | 498  | —
Albania | 376  | 70  | 417  | 59  | 427  | 54  | 397  | 58  | 391  | 54  | —  | —
Algeria | —  | —  | —  | —  | 376  | 72  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Argentina | 406  | 60  | 404  | 65  | 432  | 52  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Australia | 507  | 10  | 503  | 17  | 510  | 14  | 521  | 14  | 527  | 9  | 527  | 8
Austria | 491  | 23  | 490  | 28  | 495  | 26  | 506  | 21  | 494  | 28  | 511  | 17
China B-S-J-G[a] | —  | —  | —  | —  | 518  | 10  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
China B-S-J-Z[b] | —  | —  | 590  | 1  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Azerbaijan Baku | 380  | 68  | 398  | 68  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Belarus | —  | —  | 471  | 37  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Belgium | 491  | 24  | 499  | 20  | 502  | 20  | 505  | 22  | 507  | 19  | 510  | 18
Bosnia and Herzegovina | —  | —  | 398  | 67  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Brazil | 403  | 62  | 404  | 66  | 401  | 66  | 402  | 55  | 405  | 49  | 390  | 49
Brunei | 446  | 42  | 431  | 50  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Bulgaria | 421  | 50  | 424  | 56  | 446  | 46  | 446  | 43  | 439  | 42  | 434  | 40
Argentina CABA[c] | —  | —  | —  | —  | 475  | 38  | 425  | 49  | —  | —  | —  | —
Cambodia | 347  | 81  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Canada | 515  | 8  | 518  | 8  | 528  | 7  | 525  | 9  | 529  | 7  | 534  | 3
Chile | 444  | 43  | 444  | 45  | 447  | 45  | 445  | 44  | 447  | 41  | 438  | 39
Taiwan | 537  | 4  | 516  | 10  | 532  | 4  | 523  | 11  | 520  | 11  | 532  | 4
Colombia | 411  | 54  | 413  | 62  | 416  | 60  | 399  | 56  | 402  | 50  | 388  | 50
Costa Rica | 411  | 55  | 416  | 60  | 420  | 58  | 429  | 47  | —  | —  | —  | —
Croatia | 483  | 31  | 472  | 36  | 475  | 37  | 491  | 32  | 486  | 35  | 493  | 25
Cyprus | 411  | 56  | 439  | 47  | 433  | 51  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Czech Republic | 498  | 18  | 497  | 21  | 493  | 29  | 508  | 20  | 500  | 22  | 513  | 14
Denmark | 494  | 20  | 493  | 25  | 502  | 21  | 498  | 25  | 499  | 24  | 496  | 23
Dominican Republic | 360  | 77  | 336  | 78  | 332  | 73  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
El Salvador | 373  | 72  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Estonia | 526  | 6  | 530  | 4  | 534  | 3  | 541  | 5  | 528  | 8  | 531  | 5
Finland | 511  | 9  | 522  | 6  | 531  | 5  | 545  | 4  | 554  | 1  | 563  | 1
France | 487  | 26  | 493  | 24  | 495  | 27  | 499  | 24  | 498  | 25  | 495  | 24
Georgia | 384  | 66  | 383  | 73  | 411  | 63  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Germany | 492  | 22  | 503  | 16  | 509  | 16  | 524  | 10  | 520  | 12  | 516  | 12
Greece | 441  | 44  | 452  | 44  | 455  | 44  | 467  | 40  | 470  | 38  | 473  | 37
Guatemala | 373  | 73  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Hong Kong | 520  | 7  | 517  | 9  | 523  | 9  | 555  | 1  | 549  | 2  | 542  | 2
Hungary | 486  | 27  | 481  | 32  | 477  | 35  | 494  | 30  | 503  | 20  | 504  | 20
Iceland | 447  | 41  | 475  | 35  | 473  | 39  | 478  | 37  | 496  | 26  | 491  | 26
Indonesia | 383  | 67  | 396  | 70  | 403  | 65  | 382  | 60  | 383  | 55  | 393  | 48
Ireland | 504  | 12  | 496  | 22  | 503  | 19  | 522  | 13  | 508  | 18  | 508  | 19
Israel | 465  | 37  | 462  | 42  | 467  | 40  | 470  | 39  | 455  | 39  | 454  | 38
Italy | 477  | 33  | 468  | 40  | 481  | 34  | 494  | 31  | 489  | 33  | 475  | 35
Jamaica | 403  | 63  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Japan | 547  | 2  | 529  | 5  | 538  | 2  | 547  | 3  | 539  | 4  | 531  | 6
Jordan | 375  | 71  | 429  | 51  | 409  | 64  | 409  | 54  | 415  | 47  | 422  | 43
Kazakhstan | 423  | 49  | 397  | 69  | 456  | 43  | 425  | 48  | 400  | 53  | —  | —
South Korea | 528  | 5  | 519  | 7  | 516  | 11  | 538  | 6  | 538  | 5  | 522  | 10
Kosovo | 357  | 78  | 365  | 75  | 378  | 71  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Latvia | 494  | 19  | 487  | 29  | 490  | 31  | 502  | 23  | 494  | 29  | 490  | 27
Lebanon | —  | —  | 384  | 72  | 386  | 68  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Lithuania | 484  | 29  | 482  | 31  | 475  | 36  | 496  | 28  | 491  | 31  | 488  | 31
Luxembourg | —  | —  | 477  | 34  | 483  | 33  | 491  | 33  | 484  | 36  | 486  | 33
Macau | 543  | 3  | 544  | 3  | 529  | 6  | 521  | 15  | 511  | 16  | 511  | 16
Malaysia | 416  | 52  | 438  | 48  | 443  | 47  | 420  | 50  | —  | —  | —  | —
Malta | 466  | 36  | 457  | 43  | 465  | 41  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Mexico | 410  | 57  | 419  | 57  | 416  | 61  | 415  | 52  | 416  | 46  | 410  | 47
Moldova | 417  | 51  | 428  | 52  | 428  | 53  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Mongolia | 412  | 53  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Montenegro | 403  | 61  | 415  | 61  | 411  | 62  | 410  | 53  | 401  | 51  | 412  | 46
Morocco | 365  | 76  | 377  | 74  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Netherlands | 488  | 25  | 503  | 15  | 509  | 17  | 522  | 12  | 522  | 10  | 525  | 9
New Zealand | 504  | 11  | 508  | 12  | 513  | 12  | 516  | 16  | 532  | 6  | 530  | 7
Macedonia | 380  | 69  | 413  | 63  | 384  | 70  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Norway | 478  | 32  | 490  | 27  | 498  | 24  | 495  | 29  | 500  | 23  | 487  | 32
Palestinian Authority | 369  | 74  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Panama | 388  | 65  | 365  | 76  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Paraguay | 368  | 75  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Peru | 408  | 59  | 404  | 64  | 397  | 67  | 373  | 61  | 369  | 57  | —  | —
Philippines | 356  | 79  | 357  | 77  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Poland | 499  | 17  | 511  | 11  | 501  | 22  | 526  | 8  | 508  | 17  | 498  | 22
Portugal | 484  | 30  | 492  | 26  | 501  | 23  | 489  | 34  | 493  | 30  | 474  | 36
Qatar | 432  | 46  | 419  | 58  | 418  | 59  | 384  | 59  | 379  | 56  | 349  | 52
Romania | 428  | 48  | 426  | 55  | 435  | 50  | 439  | 46  | 428  | 43  | 418  | 45
Russia | —  | —  | 478  | 33  | 487  | 32  | 486  | 35  | 478  | 37  | 479  | 34
Serbia | 447  | 40  | 440  | 46  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Saudi Arabia | 390  | 64  | 386  | 71  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Singapore | 561  | 1  | 551  | 2  | 556  | 1  | 551  | 2  | 542  | 3  | —  | —
Slovakia | 462  | 38  | 464  | 41  | 461  | 42  | 471  | 38  | 490  | 32  | 488  | 29
Slovenia | 500  | 14  | 507  | 13  | 513  | 13  | 514  | 18  | 512  | 15  | 519  | 11
Spain | 485  | 28  | 483  | 30  | 493  | 30  | 496  | 27  | 488  | 34  | 488  | 30
Sweden | 494  | 21  | 499  | 19  | 493  | 28  | 485  | 36  | 495  | 27  | 503  | 21
Switzerland | 503  | 13  | 495  | 23  | 506  | 18  | 515  | 17  | 517  | 13  | 512  | 15
Thailand | 409  | 58  | 426  | 53  | 421  | 57  | 444  | 45  | 425  | 45  | 421  | 44
Trinidad and Tobago | —  | —  | —  | —  | 425  | 56  | —  | —  | 410  | 48  | —  | —
Tunisia | —  | —  | —  | —  | 386  | 69  | 398  | 57  | 401  | 52  | 386  | 51
Turkey | 476  | 34  | 468  | 39  | 425  | 55  | 463  | 41  | 454  | 40  | 424  | 42
Ukraine[d] | 450  | 39  | 469  | 38  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
United Arab Emirates | 432  | 47  | 434  | 49  | 437  | 48  | 448  | 42  | —  | —  | —  | —
United Kingdom | 500  | 15  | 505  | 14  | 509  | 15  | 514  | 19  | 514  | 14  | 515  | 13
United States | 499  | 16  | 502  | 18  | 496  | 25  | 497  | 26  | 502  | 21  | 489  | 28
Uruguay | 435  | 45  | 426  | 54  | 435  | 49  | 416  | 51  | 427  | 44  | 428  | 41
Uzbekistan | 355  | 80  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Vietnam | 472  | 35  | —  | —  | 525  | 8  | 528  | 7  | —  | —  | —  | —
Reading

Country  | 2022[33] | 2018[34] | 2015  | 2012  | 2009  | 2006  | 2003  | 2000
Score  | Rank  | Score  | Rank  | Score  | Rank  | Score  | Rank  | Score  | Rank  | Score  | Rank  | Score  | Rank  | Score  | Rank
International Average (OECD)  | 476  | —  | 487  | —  | 493  | —  | 496  | —  | 493  | —  | 489  | —  | 494  | —  | 493  | —
Albania | 358  | 73  | 405  | 61  | 405  | 63  | 394  | 58  | 385  | 55  | —  | —  | —  | —  | 349  | 39
Algeria | —  | —  | —  | —  | 350  | 71  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Argentina | 401  | 58  | 402  | 63  | 425  | 56  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Australia | 498  | 12  | 503  | 16  | 503  | 16  | 512  | 12  | 515  | 8  | 513  | 7  | 525  | 4  | 528  | 4
Austria | 480  | 21  | 484  | 27  | 485  | 33  | 490  | 26  | 470  | 37  | 490  | 21  | 491  | 22  | 492  | 19
China B-S-J-G[a] | —  | —  | —  | —  | 494  | 27  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
China B-S-J-Z[b] | —  | —  | 555  | 1  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Azerbaijan Baku | 365  | 69  | 389  | 68  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Belarus | —  | —  | 474  | 36  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Belgium | 479  | 23  | 493  | 22  | 499  | 20  | 509  | 16  | 506  | 10  | 501  | 11  | 507  | 11  | 507  | 11
Bosnia and Herzegovina | —  | —  | 403  | 62  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Brazil | 410  | 52  | 413  | 57  | 407  | 62  | 407  | 52  | 412  | 49  | 393  | 47  | 403  | 36  | 396  | 36
Brunei | 429  | 44  | 408  | 59  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Bulgaria | 404  | 57  | 420  | 54  | 432  | 49  | 436  | 47  | 429  | 42  | 402  | 43  | —  | —  | 430  | 32
Argentina CABA[c] | —  | —  | —  | —  | 475  | 38  | 429  | 48  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Cambodia | 329  | 81  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Canada | 507  | 8  | 520  | 6  | 527  | 3  | 523  | 7  | 524  | 5  | 527  | 4  | 528  | 3  | 534  | 2
Chile | 448  | 37  | 452  | 43  | 459  | 42  | 441  | 43  | 449  | 41  | 442  | 37  | —  | —  | 410  | 35
Taiwan | 515  | 5  | 503  | 17  | 497  | 23  | 523  | 8  | 495  | 21  | 496  | 15  | —  | —  | —  | —
Colombia | 409  | 54  | 412  | 58  | 425  | 57  | 403  | 54  | 413  | 48  | 385  | 49  | —  | —  | —  | —
Costa Rica | 415  | 50  | 426  | 49  | 427  | 52  | 441  | 45  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Croatia | 475  | 26  | 479  | 29  | 487  | 31  | 485  | 33  | 476  | 34  | 477  | 29  | —  | —  | —  | —
Cyprus | 381  | 63  | 424  | 50  | 443  | 45  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Czech Republic | 489  | 17  | 490  | 25  | 487  | 30  | 493  | 24  | 478  | 32  | 483  | 25  | 489  | 24  | 492  | 20
Denmark | 489  | 15  | 501  | 18  | 500  | 18  | 496  | 23  | 495  | 22  | 494  | 18  | 492  | 19  | 497  | 16
Dominican Republic | 351  | 74  | 342  | 76  | 358  | 69  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
El Salvador | 365  | 70  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Estonia | 511  | 6  | 523  | 5  | 519  | 6  | 516  | 10  | 501  | 12  | 501  | 12  | —  | —  | —  | —
Finland | 490  | 14  | 520  | 7  | 526  | 4  | 524  | 5  | 536  | 2  | 547  | 2  | 543  | 1  | 546  | 1
France | 474  | 29  | 493  | 23  | 499  | 19  | 505  | 19  | 496  | 20  | 488  | 22  | 496  | 17  | 505  | 14
Georgia | 374  | 67  | 380  | 70  | 401  | 65  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Germany | 480  | 22  | 498  | 20  | 509  | 11  | 508  | 18  | 497  | 18  | 495  | 17  | 491  | 21  | 484  | 22
Greece | 438  | 41  | 457  | 42  | 467  | 41  | 477  | 38  | 483  | 30  | 460  | 35  | 472  | 30  | 474  | 25
Guatemala | 374  | 66  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Hong Kong | 500  | 11  | 524  | 4  | 527  | 2  | 545  | 1  | 533  | 3  | 536  | 3  | 510  | 9  | 525  | 6
Hungary | 473  | 31  | 476  | 33  | 470  | 40  | 488  | 28  | 494  | 24  | 482  | 26  | 482  | 25  | 480  | 23
Iceland | 436  | 42  | 474  | 35  | 482  | 35  | 483  | 35  | 500  | 15  | 484  | 23  | 492  | 20  | 507  | 12
Indonesia | 359  | 71  | 371  | 72  | 397  | 67  | 396  | 57  | 402  | 53  | 393  | 46  | 382  | 38  | 371  | 38
Ireland | 516  | 2  | 518  | 8  | 521  | 5  | 523  | 6  | 496  | 19  | 517  | 6  | 515  | 6  | 527  | 5
Israel | 474  | 30  | 470  | 37  | 479  | 37  | 486  | 32  | 474  | 35  | 439  | 39  | —  | —  | 452  | 29
Italy | 482  | 20  | 476  | 32  | 485  | 34  | 490  | 25  | 486  | 27  | 469  | 32  | 476  | 29  | 487  | 21
Jamaica | 410  | 53  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Japan | 516  | 3  | 504  | 15  | 516  | 8  | 538  | 3  | 520  | 7  | 498  | 14  | 498  | 14  | 522  | 9
Jordan | 342  | 78  | 419  | 55  | 408  | 61  | 399  | 55  | 405  | 51  | 401  | 44  | —  | —  | —  | —
Kazakhstan | 386  | 61  | 387  | 69  | 427  | 54  | 393  | 59  | 390  | 54  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
South Korea | 515  | 4  | 514  | 9  | 517  | 7  | 536  | 4  | 539  | 1  | 556  | 1  | 534  | 2  | 525  | 7
Kosovo | 342  | 77  | 353  | 75  | 347  | 72  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Latvia | 475  | 27  | 479  | 30  | 488  | 29  | 489  | 27  | 484  | 28  | 479  | 27  | 491  | 23  | 458  | 28
Lebanon | —  | —  | 353  | 74  | 347  | 73  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Lithuania | 472  | 32  | 476  | 34  | 472  | 39  | 477  | 37  | 468  | 38  | 470  | 31  | —  | —  | —  | —
Luxembourg | —  | —  | 470  | 38  | 481  | 36  | 488  | 30  | 472  | 36  | 479  | 28  | 479  | 27  | 441  | 30
Macau | 510  | 7  | 525  | 3  | 509  | 12  | 509  | 15  | 487  | 26  | 492  | 20  | 498  | 15  | —  | —
Malaysia | 388  | 60  | 415  | 56  | 431  | 50  | 398  | 56  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Malta | 445  | 39  | 448  | 44  | 447  | 44  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Mexico | 415  | 49  | 420  | 53  | 423  | 58  | 424  | 49  | 425  | 44  | 410  | 42  | 400  | 37  | 422  | 34
Moldova | 411  | 51  | 424  | 51  | 416  | 59  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Mongolia | 378  | 65  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Montenegro | 405  | 56  | 421  | 52  | 427  | 55  | 422  | 50  | 408  | 50  | 392  | 48  | —  | —  | —  | —
Morocco | 339  | 79  | 359  | 73  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Netherlands | 459  | 35  | 485  | 26  | 503  | 15  | 511  | 13  | 508  | 9  | 507  | 10  | 513  | 8  | —  | —
New Zealand | 501  | 10  | 506  | 12  | 509  | 10  | 512  | 11  | 521  | 6  | 521  | 5  | 522  | 5  | 529  | 3
Macedonia | 359  | 72  | 393  | 67  | 352  | 70  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | 373  | 37
Norway | 477  | 25  | 499  | 19  | 513  | 9  | 504  | 20  | 503  | 11  | 484  | 24  | 500  | 12  | 505  | 13
Palestinian Authority | 349  | 75  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Panama | 392  | 59  | 377  | 71  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Paraguay | 373  | 68  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Peru | 408  | 55  | 401  | 64  | 398  | 66  | 384  | 61  | 370  | 57  | —  | —  | —  | —  | 327  | 40
Philippines | 347  | 76  | 340  | 77  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Poland | 489  | 16  | 512  | 10  | 506  | 13  | 518  | 9  | 500  | 14  | 508  | 8  | 497  | 16  | 479  | 24
Portugal | 477  | 24  | 492  | 24  | 498  | 21  | 488  | 31  | 489  | 25  | 472  | 30  | 478  | 28  | 470  | 26
Qatar | 419  | 47  | 407  | 60  | 402  | 64  | 388  | 60  | 372  | 56  | 312  | 51  | —  | —  | —  | —
Romania | 428  | 45  | 428  | 47  | 434  | 47  | 438  | 46  | 424  | 45  | 396  | 45  | —  | —  | 428  | 33
Russia | —  | —  | 479  | 31  | 495  | 26  | 475  | 40  | 459  | 40  | 440  | 38  | 442  | 32  | 462  | 27
Serbia | 440  | 40  | 439  | 45  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Saudi Arabia | 383  | 62  | 399  | 65  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Singapore | 543  | 1  | 549  | 2  | 535  | 1  | 542  | 2  | 526  | 4  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Slovakia | 447  | 38  | 458  | 41  | 453  | 43  | 463  | 41  | 477  | 33  | 466  | 33  | 469  | 31  | —  | —
Slovenia | 469  | 33  | 495  | 21  | 505  | 14  | 481  | 36  | 483  | 29  | 494  | 19  | —  | —  | —  | —
Spain | 474  | 28  | —  | —  | 496  | 25  | 488  | 29  | 481  | 31  | 461  | 34  | 481  | 26  | 493  | 18
Sweden | 487  | 18  | 506  | 11  | 500  | 17  | 483  | 34  | 497  | 17  | 507  | 9  | 514  | 7  | 516  | 10
Switzerland | 483  | 19  | 484  | 28  | 492  | 28  | 509  | 14  | 501  | 13  | 499  | 13  | 499  | 13  | 494  | 17
Thailand | 379  | 64  | 393  | 66  | 409  | 60  | 441  | 44  | 421  | 46  | 417  | 40  | 420  | 35  | 431  | 31
Trinidad and Tobago | —  | —  | —  | —  | 427  | 53  | —  | —  | 416  | 47  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Tunisia | —  | —  | —  | —  | 361  | 68  | 404  | 53  | 404  | 52  | 380  | 50  | 375  | 39  | —  | —
Turkey | 456  | 36  | 466  | 40  | 428  | 51  | 475  | 39  | 464  | 39  | 447  | 36  | 441  | 33  | —  | —
Ukraine[d] | 428  | 46  | 466  | 39  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
United Arab Emirates | 417  | 48  | 432  | 46  | 434  | 48  | 442  | 42  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
United Kingdom | 494  | 13  | 504  | 14  | 498  | 22  | 499  | 21  | 494  | 23  | 495  | 16  | 507  | 10  | 523  | 8
United States | 504  | 9  | 505  | 13  | 497  | 24  | 498  | 22  | 500  | 16  | —  | —  | 495  | 18  | 504  | 15
Uruguay | 430  | 43  | 427  | 48  | 437  | 46  | 411  | 51  | 426  | 43  | 413  | 41  | 434  | 34  | —  | —
Uzbekistan | 336  | 80  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
Vietnam | 462  | 34  | —  | —  | 487  | 32  | 508  | 17  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —

1. ^ a b c Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Guangdong
2. ^ a b c Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang
3. ^ a b c Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires
4. ^ a b c Except for regions occupied by Russia

### Previous years

[edit]

Main article: Programme for International Student Assessment (2000 to 2012)

Period  | Focus  | OECD countries  | Partner countries  | Participating students  | Notes

|
|
|
|
|

2000  | Reading  | 28  | 4 + 11  | 265,000  | The Netherlands disqualified from data analysis. 11 additional non-OECD countries took the test in 2002.
2003  | Mathematics  | 30  | 11  | 275,000  | UK disqualified from data analysis, due to its low response rate.[35] Also included test in problem solving.
2006  | Science  | 30  | 27  | 400,000  | Reading scores for US disqualified from analysis due to misprint in testing materials.[36]
2009[37] | Reading  | 34  | 41 + 10  | 470,000  | 10 additional non-OECD countries took the test in 2010.[38][39]
2012[40] | Mathematics  | 35  | 37  | 510,000  |
2015[41] | Science  | 34  | 31  | 509,000  |
2018[42] | Reading  | 37  | 42  | 600,000  |
2022  | Mathematics  | 37  | 44  | 690,000  |

## Reception

[edit]

Further information: Programme for International Student Assessment (2000 to 2012)

### China

[edit]

China's participation in the 2012 test was limited to Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Macau as separate entities. In 2012, Shanghai participated for the second time, again topping the rankings in all three subjects, as well as improving scores in the subjects compared to the 2009 tests. Shanghai's score of 613 in mathematics was 113 points above the average score, putting the performance of Shanghai pupils about 3 school years ahead of pupils in average countries. Educational experts debated to what degree this result reflected the quality of the general educational system in China, pointing out that Shanghai has greater wealth and better-paid teachers than the rest of China.[43] Hong Kong placed second in reading and science and third in maths.

Andreas Schleicher, PISA division head and co-ordinator, stated that PISA tests administered in rural China have produced some results approaching the OECD average. Citing further as-yet-unpublished OECD research, he said, "We have actually done Pisa in 12 of the provinces in China. Even in some of the very poor areas you get performance close to the OECD average."[44] Schleicher believes that China has also expanded school access and has moved away from learning by rote,[45] performing well in both rote-based and broader assessments.[44]

In 2018 the Chinese provinces that participated were Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. In 2015, the participating provinces were Jiangsu, Guangdong, Beijing, and Shanghai.[46] The 2015 Beijing-Shanghai-Jiangsu-Guangdong cohort scored a median 518 in science in 2015, while the 2012 Shanghai cohort scored a median 580.

Critics of PISA counter that in Shanghai and other Chinese cities, most children of migrant workers can only attend city schools up to the ninth grade, and must return to their parents' hometowns for high school due to hukou restrictions, thus skewing the composition of the city's high school students in favor of wealthier local families. A population chart of Shanghai reproduced in The New York Times shows a steep drop off in the number of 15-year-olds residing there.[47] According to Schleicher, 27% of Shanghai's 15-year-olds are excluded from its school system (and hence from testing). As a result, the percentage of Shanghai's 15-year-olds tested by PISA was 73%, lower than the 89% tested in the US.[48] Following the 2015 testing, OECD published in depth studies on the education systems of a selected few countries including China.[49]

In 2014, Liz Truss, the British Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Education, led a fact-finding visit to schools and teacher-training centres in Shanghai.[50] Britain increased exchanges with Chinese teachers and schools to find out how to improve quality. In 2014, 60 teachers from Shanghai were invited to the UK to help share their teaching methods, support pupils who are struggling, and help to train other teachers.[51] In 2016, Britain invited 120 Chinese teachers, planning to adopt Chinese styles of teaching in 8,000 aided schools.[52] By 2019, approximately 5,000 of Britain's 16,000 primary schools had adopted the Shanghai's teaching methods.[53] The performance of British schools in PISA improved after adopting China's teaching styles.[54][55]

### Finland

[edit]

Finland, which received several top positions in the first tests, fell in all three subjects in 2012, but remained the best performing country overall in Europe, achieving their best result in science with 545 points (5th) and worst in mathematics with 519 (12th) in which the country was outperformed by four other European countries. The drop in mathematics was 25 points since 2003, the last time mathematics was the focus of the tests. For the first time Finnish girls outperformed boys in mathematics narrowly. It was also the first time pupils in Finnish-speaking schools did not perform better than pupils in Swedish-speaking schools. Former minister of Education and Science Krista Kiuru expressed concern for the overall drop, as well as the fact that the number of low-performers had increased from 7% to 12%.[56]

### India

[edit]

India participated in the 2009 round of testing but pulled out of the 2012 PISA testing, with the Indian government attributing its action to the unfairness of PISA testing to Indian students.[57] India had ranked 72nd out of 73 countries tested in 2009.[58] The Indian Express reported, "The ministry (of education) has concluded that there was a socio-cultural disconnect between the questions and Indian students. The ministry will write to the OECD and drive home the need to factor in India's "socio-cultural milieu". India's participation in the next PISA cycle will hinge on this".[59] The Indian Express also noted that "Considering that over 70 nations participate in PISA, it is uncertain whether an exception would be made for India".

India did not participate in the 2012, 2015 and 2018 PISA rounds.[60]

A Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) committee as well as a group of secretaries on education constituted by the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi recommended that India should participate in PISA. Accordingly, in February 2017, the Ministry of Human Resource Development under Prakash Javadekar decided to end the boycott and participate in PISA from 2020. To address the socio-cultural disconnect between the test questions and students, it was reported that the OECD will update some questions. For example, the word avocado in a question may be replaced with a more popular Indian fruit such as mango.[61]

India did not participate in the 2022 PISA rounds citing due to COVID-19 pandemic disruption.[62]

### Malaysia

[edit]

In 2015, the results from Malaysia were found by the OECD to have not met the maximum response rate.[63] Opposition politician Ong Kian Ming said the education ministry tried to oversample high-performing students in rich schools.[64][65]

### Sweden

[edit]

Sweden's result dropped in all three subjects in the 2012 test, which was a continuation of a trend from 2006 and 2009. It saw the sharpest fall in mathematics performance with a drop in score from 509 in 2003 to 478 in 2012. The score in reading showed a drop from 516 in 2000 to 483 in 2012. The country performed below the OECD average in all three subjects.[66] The leader of the opposition, Social Democrat Stefan Löfven, described the situation as a national crisis.[67] Along with the party's spokesperson on education, Ibrahim Baylan, he pointed to the downward trend in reading as most severe.[67]

In 2020, Swedish newspaper Expressen revealed that Sweden had inflated their score in PISA 2018 by not conforming to OECD standards. According to professor Magnus Henrekson a large number of foreign-born students had not been tested.[68]

### United Kingdom

[edit]

In the 2012 test, as in 2009, the result was slightly above average for the United Kingdom, with the science ranking being highest (20).[69] England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland also participated as separated entities, showing the worst result for Wales which in mathematics was 43rd of the 65 countries and economies. Minister of Education in Wales Huw Lewis expressed disappointment in the results, said that there were no "quick fixes", but hoped that several educational reforms that have been implemented in the last few years would give better results in the next round of tests.[70] The United Kingdom had a greater gap between high- and low-scoring students than the average. There was little difference between public and private schools when adjusted for socio-economic background of students. The gender difference in favour of girls was less than in most other countries, as was the difference between natives and immigrants.[69]

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard warned against putting too much emphasis on the UK's international ranking, arguing that an overfocus on scholarly performances in East Asia might have contributed to the area's low birthrate, which he argued could harm the economic performance in the future more than a good PISA score would outweigh.[71]

In 2013, the Times Educational Supplement (TES) published an article, "Is PISA Fundamentally Flawed?" by William Stewart, detailing serious critiques of PISA's conceptual foundations and methods advanced by statisticians at major universities.[72]

In the article, Professor Harvey Goldstein of the University of Bristol was quoted as saying that when the OECD tries to rule out questions suspected of bias, it can have the effect of "smoothing out" key differences between countries. "That is leaving out many of the important things," he warned. "They simply don't get commented on. What you are looking at is something that happens to be common. But (is it) worth looking at? PISA results are taken at face value as providing some sort of common standard across countries. But as soon as you begin to unpick it, I think that all falls apart."

Queen's University Belfast mathematician Dr. Hugh Morrison stated that he found the statistical model underlying PISA to contain a fundamental, insoluble mathematical error that renders Pisa rankings "valueless".[73] Goldstein remarked that Dr. Morrison's objection highlights "an important technical issue" if not a "profound conceptual error". However, Goldstein cautioned that PISA has been "used inappropriately", contending that some of the blame for this "lies with PISA itself. I think it tends to say too much for what it can do and it tends not to publicise the negative or the weaker aspects." Professors Morrison and Goldstein expressed dismay at the OECD's response to criticism. Morrison said that when he first published his criticisms of PISA in 2004 and also personally queried several of the OECD's "senior people" about them, his points were met with "absolute silence" and have yet to be addressed. "I was amazed at how unforthcoming they were," he told TES. "That makes me suspicious." "Pisa steadfastly ignored many of these issues," he says. "I am still concerned."[72]

Professor Svend Kreiner, of the University of Copenhagen, agreed: "One of the problems that everybody has with PISA is that they don't want to discuss things with people criticising or asking questions concerning the results. They didn't want to talk to me at all. I am sure it is because they can't defend themselves.[72]

### United States

[edit]

Since 2012 a few states have participated in the PISA tests as separate entities. Only the 2012 and 2015 results are available on a state basis. Puerto Rico participated in 2015 as a separate US entity as well.

2012 US State results  Mathematics  | Science  | Reading

|
|

|  Massachusetts | 514

|

Connecticut | 506
US Average  | 481
Florida | 467
|  Massachusetts | 527

|

Connecticut | 521
US Average  | 497
Florida | 485
|  Massachusetts | 527

|

Connecticut | 521
US Average  | 498
Florida | 492

2015 US State results  Mathematics  | Science  | Reading

|
|

|  Massachusetts | 500

|

North Carolina | 471
US Average  | 470
Puerto Rico | 378
|  Massachusetts | 529

|

North Carolina | 502
US Average  | 496
Puerto Rico | 403
|  Massachusetts | 527

|

North Carolina | 500
US Average  | 497
Puerto Rico | 410

#### PISA results for the United States by race and ethnicity

[edit]

Mathematics

Race  | 2018[74] | 2015  | 2012  | 2009  | 2006  | 2003
Score  | Score  | Score  | Score  | Score  | Score
Asian  | 539  | 498  | 549  | 524  | 494  | 506
White  | 503  | 499  | 506  | 515  | 502  | 512
US Average  | 478  | 470  | 481  | 487  | 474  | 483
More than one race  | 474  | 475  | 492  | 487  | 482  | 502
Hispanic  | 452  | 446  | 455  | 453  | 436  | 443
Other  | —  | 423  | 436  | 460  | 446  | 446
Black  | 419  | 419  | 421  | 423  | 404  | 417
Science

Race  | 2018[74] | 2015  | 2012  | 2009  | 2006
Score  | Score  | Score  | Score  | Score
Asian  | 551  | 525  | 546  | 536  | 499
White  | 529  | 531  | 528  | 532  | 523
US Average  | 502  | 496  | 497  | 502  | 489
More than one race  | 502  | 503  | 511  | 503  | 501
Hispanic  | 478  | 470  | 462  | 464  | 439
Other  | —  | 462  | 439  | 465  | 453
Black  | 440  | 433  | 439  | 435  | 409
Reading

Race  | 2018[74] | 2015  | 2012  | 2009  | 2006  | 2003  | 2000
Score  | Score  | Score  | Score  | Score  | Score  | Score
Asian  | 556  | 527  | 550  | 541  | —  | 513  | 546
White  | 531  | 526  | 519  | 525  | —  | 525  | 538
US Average  | 505  | 497  | 498  | 500  | —  | 495  | 504
More than one race  | 501  | 498  | 517  | 502  | —  | 515  | —
Hispanic  | 481  | 478  | 478  | 466  | —  | 453  | 449
Black  | 448  | 443  | 443  | 441  | —  | 430  | 445
Other  | —  | 440  | 438  | 462  | —  | 456  | 455

## Research on possible causes of PISA disparities in different countries

[edit]

Although PISA and TIMSS officials and researchers themselves generally refrain from hypothesizing about the large and stable differences in student achievement between countries, since 2000, literature on the differences in PISA and TIMSS results and their possible causes has emerged.[75] Data from PISA have furnished several researchers, notably Eric Hanushek, Ludger Wößmann, Heiner Rindermann, and Stephen J. Ceci, with material for books and articles about the relationship between student achievement and economic development,[76] democratization, and health;[77] as well as the roles of such single educational factors as high-stakes exams,[78] the presence or absence of private schools and the effects and timing of ability tracking.[79]

It is important to be careful with the interpretation of this data due to PISA has also attributed low educational achievements to school poverty or the presence of a high number of immigrants students, but this is hoax and a superficial analysis of the data, as has been demonstrated in some studies.  Now, is known that which actually determines educational achievement are those actions which are implemented in schools[80]

## Critics and comments on accuracy

[edit]

David Spiegelhalter of Cambridge wrote: "Pisa does present the uncertainty in the scores and ranks - for example the United Kingdom rank in the 65 countries is said to be between 23 and 31. It's unwise for countries to base education policy on their Pisa results, as Germany, Norway and Denmark did after doing badly in 2001."[81]

According to Forbes, an American media outlet, in an opinion article, some countries such as China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Argentina select PISA samples from only the best-educated areas or from their top-performing students, slanting the results.[82]

According to an open letter to Andreas Schleicher, director of PISA, various academics and educators argued that "OECD and Pisa tests are damaging education worldwide".[83]

According to O Estado de São Paulo, Brazil shows a great disparity when classifying the results between public and private schools, where public schools would rank worse than Peru, while private schools would rank better than Finland.[84]

According to a 2023 book, PISA is failing in its mission. It suggests that flatlined student outcomes and policy shortcomings have much to do with PISA's implicit ideological biases, structural impediments such as union advocacy, and conflicts of interest.[85]

## See also

[edit]

* Gender gaps in mathematics and reading in PISA 2009
* Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)
* Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC)
* Teaching And Learning International Survey (TALIS)
* Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)

## Explanatory notes

[edit]

1. ^ 40 countries participated back then, and 81 countries and economies participated in the 2022 data collection.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "About PISA". OECD PISA. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
2. ^ Berger, Kathleen (3 March 2014). Invitation to The Life Span (second ed.). worth. ISBN 978-1-4641-7205-2.
3. ^ "PISA 2022 Results". OECD. December 2023. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
4. ^ a b c d e Rey, O (2010). "The use of external assessments and the impact on education systems". CIDREE Yearbook. Archived from the original on 3 February 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
5. ^ McGaw, B (2008). "The role of the OECD in international comparative studies of achievement". Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice. 15 (3): 223–243\. doi:10.1080/09695940802417384.
6. ^ a b Kijima, Rie; Lipscy, Phillip Y. (1 January 2024). "The politics of international testing". The Review of International Organizations. 19 (1): 1–31\. doi:10.1007/s11558-023-09494-4. ISSN 1559-744X.
7. ^ a b Ramirez, Francisco O.; Schofer, Evan; Meyer, John W. (2018). "International Tests, National Assessments, and Educational Development (1970–2012)". Comparative Education Review. 62 (3): 344–364\. doi:10.1086/698326. ISSN 0010-4086.
8. ^ Kamens, David H.; McNeely, Connie L. (2010). "Globalization and the Growth of International Educational Testing and National Assessment". Comparative Education Review. 54 (1): 5–25\. doi:10.1086/648471. ISSN 0010-4086.
9. ^ Mons, N (2008). "Évaluation des politiques éducatives et comparaisons internationales". Revue française de pédagogie (in French). 164 (July–August-September 2008): 5–13\. doi:10.4000/rfp.1985.
10. ^ a b c d e f Breakspear, S. (2012). "The Policy Impact of PISA: An Exploration of the Normative Effects of International Benchmarking in School System Performance". OECD Education Working Paper. OECD Education Working Papers. 71. doi:10.1787/5k9fdfqffr28-en.
11. ^ Barroso, J.; de Carvalho, L.M. (2008). "Pisa: Un instrument de régulation pour relier des mondes". Revue française de pédagogie (in French). 164 (164): 77–80\. doi:10.4000/rfp.2133.
12. ^ Martens, Kerstin; Niemann, Dennis (2013). "When Do Numbers Count? The Differential Impact of the PISA Rating and Ranking on Education Policy in Germany and the US". German Politics. 22 (3): 314–332\. doi:10.1080/09644008.2013.794455. ISSN 0964-4008.
13. ^ Ertl, H. (2006). "Educational standards and the changing discourse on education: the reception and consequences of the PISA study in Germany". Oxford Review of Education. 32 (5): 619–634\. doi:10.1080/03054980600976320. S2CID 144656964.
14. ^ Bajomi, I.; Berényi, E.; Neumann, E.; Vida, J. (2009). "The Reception of PISA in Hungary' accessed January 2017" (PDF). Knowledge and Policy. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2017.
15. ^ Steiner-Khamsi (2003), cited by Breakspear, S. (2012). "The Policy Impact of PISA: An Exploration of the Normative Effects of International Benchmarking in School System Performance". OECD Education Working Paper. OECD Education Working Papers. 71. doi:10.1787/5k9fdfqffr28-en.
16. ^ Mangez, Eric; Cattonar, Branka (September–December 2009). "The status of PISA in the relationship between civil society and the educational sector in French-speaking Belgium". Sísifo: Educational Sciences Journal (10). Educational Sciences R&D Unit of the University of Lisbon: 15–26\. ISSN 1646-6500. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
17. ^ D., Greger (2008). "Lorsque PISA importe peu. Le cas de la République Tchèque et de l'Allemagne". Revue française de pédagogie (in French). 164 (164): 91–98\. doi:10.4000/rfp.2138. cited in Rey 2010, p. 145
18. ^ Afonso, Natércio; Costa, Estela (September–December 2009). "The influence of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) on policy decision in Portugal: the education policies of the 17th Portuguese Constitutional Government" (PDF). Sísifo: Educational Sciences Journal (10). Educational Sciences R&D Unit of the University of Lisbon: 53–64\. ISSN 1646-6500. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
19. ^ Rautalin, M.; Alasuutari (2009). "The uses of the national PISA results by Finnish officials in central government". Journal of Education Policy. 24 (5): 539–556\. doi:10.1080/02680930903131267. S2CID 154584726.
20. ^ Egelund, N. (2008). "The value of international comparative studies of achievement – a Danish perspective". Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice. 15 (3): 245–251\. doi:10.1080/09695940802417400.
21. ^ Behrens, M. (2006). "Préface". In Mons, N.; Pons, X. (eds.). Les standards en éducation dans le monde francophone (in French). Neuchâtel: IRDP. cited in Rey 2010, p. 142
22. ^ Hefling, Kimberly (3 December 2013). "Asian nations dominate international test". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on 5 December 2013.
23. ^ "Chapter 2 of the publication 'PISA 2003 Assessment Framework'" (PDF). Pisa.oecd.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 December 2005.
24. ^ Keeley, B. (April 2014). "PISA, we have a problem…". OECD Insights. Archived from the original on 17 June 2021.
25. ^ Poddiakov, Alexander. "Complex Problem Solving at PISA 2012 and PISA 2015: Interaction with Complex Reality". SSRN. // Translated from Russian. Reference to the original Russian text: Poddiakov, A. (2012). "Reshenie kompleksnykh problem v PISA-2012 i PISA-2015: vzaimodeistvie so slozhnoi real'nost'yu". Obrazovatel'naya Politika (in Russian). 6: 34–53.
26. ^ C., Füller (5 December 2007). "Pisa hat einen kleinen, fröhlichen Bruder". taz (in German).
27. ^ Stanat, P; Artelt, C; Baumert, J; Klieme, E; Neubrand, M; Prenzel, M; Schiefele, U; Schneider, W (2002), PISA 2000: Overview of the study—Design, method and results, Berlin: Max Planck Institute for Human Development
28. ^ Mazzeo, John; von Davier, Matthias (2013), Linking Scales in International Large-Scale Assessments, chapter 10 in Rutkowski, L. von Davier, M. & Rutkowski, D. (eds.) Handbook of International Large-Scale Assessment: Background, Technical Issues, and Methods of Data Analysis., New York: Chapman and Hall/CRC.
29. ^ von Davier, Matthias; Sinharay, Sandip (2013), Analytics in International Large-Scale Assessments: Item Response Theory and Population Models, chapter 7 in Rutkowski, L. von Davier, M. & Rutkowski, D. (eds.) Handbook of International Large-Scale Assessment: Background, Technical Issues, and Methods of Data Analysis., New York: Chapman and Hall/CRC.
30. ^ a b c d "Learning Data | QEdu Países". paises.qedu.org.br. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
31. ^ "PISA 2022 Participants". OECD – PISA. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
32. ^ OECD (2023). PISA 2022 Results (Volume I): The State of Learning and Equity in Education. Paris: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. doi:10.1787/53f23881-en. ISBN 978-92-64-99796-7.
33. ^ a b c "PISA 2022 Results". OECD. 2023.
34. ^ a b c "PISA 2018 Results" (Document). OECD. 2019. doi:10.1787/888934028140.
35. ^ Jerrim, John (2021). "PISA 2018 in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales: Is the data really representative of all four corners of the UK?". Review of Education. 9 (3). doi:10.1002/rev3.3270. ISSN 2049-6613.
36. ^ Baldi, Stéphane; Jin, Ying; Skemer, Melanie; Green, Patricia J; Herget, Deborah; Xie, Holly (10 December 2007), Highlights From PISA 2006: Performance of U.S. 15-Year-Old Students in Science and Mathematics Literacy in an International Context (PDF), NCES, retrieved 14 December 2013, "PISA 2006 reading literacy results are not reported for the United States because of an error in printing the test booklets. Furthermore, as a result of the printing error, the mean performance in mathematics and science may be misestimated by approximately 1 score point. The impact is below one standard error."
37. ^ PISA 2009 Results: Executive Summary (PDF), OECD, 7 December 2010, archived from the original (PDF) on 24 August 2012
38. ^ ACER releases results of PISA 2009+ participant economies, ACER, 16 December 2011, archived from the original on 14 December 2013
39. ^ Walker, Maurice (2011), PISA 2009 Plus Results (PDF), OECD, archived from the original (PDF) on 22 December 2011, retrieved 28 June 2012
40. ^ PISA 2012 Results in Focus (PDF), OECD, 3 December 2013, archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2013, retrieved 4 December 2013
41. ^ PISA 2015 Results (PDF), OECD, 2016, retrieved 7 January 2025
42. ^ PISA 2018 Results (PDF), OECD, 2019, retrieved 7 January 2025
43. ^ Phillips, Tom (3 December 2013). "OECD education report: Shanghai's formula is world-beating". The Telegraph. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
44. ^ a b Cook, Chris (7 December 2010), "Shanghai tops global state school rankings", Financial Times, retrieved 28 June 2012
45. ^ Mance, Henry (7 December 2010), "Why are Chinese schoolkids so good?", Financial Times, archived from the original on 8 December 2010, retrieved 28 June 2012
46. ^ Coughlan, Sean (26 August 2014). "Pisa tests to include many more Chinese pupils". BBC News.
47. ^ Gao, Helen (23 January 2014). "Shanghai Test Scores and the Mystery of the Missing Children". New York Times. For Schleicher's initial response to these criticisms see his post, "Are the Chinese Cheating in PISA Or Are We Cheating Ourselves?". OECD's website blog. Education Today. 10 December 2013. Archived from the original on 17 February 2014.
48. ^ Stewart, William (6 March 2014). "More than a quarter of Shanghai pupils missed by international Pisa rankings". Times Educational Supplement. Archived from the original on 15 March 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
49. ^ "Education in China. A Snapshot" (PDF). OECD. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 December 2016.
50. ^ Howse, Patrick (18 February 2014). "Shanghai visit for minister to learn maths lessons". BBC News. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
51. ^ Coughlan, Sean (12 March 2014). "Shanghai teachers flown in for maths". BBC News. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
52. ^ "Britain invites 120 Chinese Maths teachers for aided schools". India Today. 20 July 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
53. ^ "Scores bolster case for Shanghai math in British schools | The Star". www.thestar.com.my. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
54. ^ Turner, Camilla (3 December 2019). "Britain jumps up international maths rankings following Chinese-style teaching". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
55. ^ Starkey, Hannah (5 December 2019). "UK Boost International Maths Ranking After Adopting Chinese-Style Teaching". True Education Partnerships. Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
56. ^ "PISA 2012: Proficiency of Finnish youth declining". University of Jyväskylä. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
57. ^ Hemali Chhapia, TNN (3 August 2012). "India backs out of global education test for 15-year-olds". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 29 April 2013.
58. ^ "PISA (Program for International Student Assessment): OECD". Drishti. 1 September 2021.
59. ^ "Poor PISA score: Govt blames 'disconnect' with India". The Indian Express. 3 September 2012.
60. ^ "India chickens out of international students assessment programme again". The Times of India. 1 June 2013.
61. ^ "PISA Tests: India to take part in global teen learning test in 2021". The Indian Express. 22 February 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
62. ^ "India opts out of PISA 2022: Prudence or Cowardice?". EducationWorld. 10 January 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
63. ^ "Ong: Did ministry try to rig results for Pisa 2015 report?". 8 December 2016.
64. ^ "Who's telling the truth about M'sia's Pisa 2015 scores?". 9 December 2016.
65. ^ "Malaysian PISA results under scrutiny for lack of evidence". School Advisor. 8 December 2016.
66. ^ Näslund, Lars (3 December 2013). "Svenska skolan rasar i stor jämförelse". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 4 December 2013.
67. ^ a b Kärrman, Jens (3 December 2013). "Löfven om Pisa: Nationell kris". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 December 2013.
68. ^ "Sveriges PISA-framgång bygger på falska siffror" (in Swedish). 2 June 2020.
69. ^ a b Adams, Richard (3 December 2013), "UK students stuck in educational doldrums, OECD study finds", The Guardian, retrieved 4 December 2013
70. ^ "Pisa ranks Wales' education the worst in the UK". BBC. 3 December 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
71. ^ Evans-Pritchard, Ambrose (3 December 2013). "OECD educational report: Pisa fever is causing east Asia's demographic collapse". Telegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
72. ^ a b c Stewart, William (26 July 2013). "Is Pisa fundamentally flawed?". Times Educational Supplement. Archived from the original on 23 August 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
73. ^ Morrison, Hugh (2013). "A fundamental conundrum in psychology's standard model of measurement and its consequences for PISA global rankings" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 June 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
74. ^ a b c "Highlights of U.S. PISA 2018 Results Web Report" (PDF).
75. ^ Hanushek, Eric A.; Woessmann, Ludger (2011). "The economics of international differences in educational achievement". In Hanushek, Eric A.; Machin, Stephen; Woessmann, Ludger (eds.). Handbook of the Economics of Education. Vol. 3\. Amsterdam: North Holland. pp. 89–200.
76. ^ Hanushek, Eric; Woessmann, Ludger (2008), "The role of cognitive skills in economic development" (PDF), Journal of Economic Literature, 46 (3): 607–668, doi:10.1257/jel.46.3.607
77. ^ Rindermann, Heiner; Ceci, Stephen J (2009), "Educational policy and country outcomes in international cognitive competence studies", Perspectives on Psychological Science, 4 (6): 551–577, doi:10.1111/j.1745-6924.2009.01165.x, PMID 26161733, S2CID 9251473
78. ^ Bishop, John H (1997). "The effect of national standards and curriculum-based exams on achievement". American Economic Review. Papers and Proceedings. 87 (2): 260–264\. JSTOR 2950928.
79. ^ Hanushek, Eric; Woessmann, Ludger (2006), "Does educational tracking affect performance and inequality? Differences-in-differences evidence across countries" (PDF), Economic Journal, 116 (510): C63 – C76, doi:10.1111/j.1468-0297.2006.01076.x
80. ^ Garcia Yeste, C., Morlà-Folch, T., Lopez de Aguileta, G., Natividad Sancho, L., Lopez de Aguileta, A., & Munté-Pascual, A. (2025). Achieving the same educational opportunities for all: overcoming hoax interpretations of the PISA results. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 30(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2025.2459330
81. ^ Alexander, Ruth (10 December 2013). "How accurate is the Pisa test?". BBC News. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
82. ^ Flows, Capital. "Are The PISA Education Results Rigged?". Forbes. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
83. ^ Guardian Staff (6 May 2014). "OECD and Pisa tests are damaging education worldwide – academics". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 November 2019 – via www.theguardian.com.
84. ^ Cafardo, Rafael (4 December 2019). "Escolas privadas de elite do Brasil superam Finlândia no Pisa, rede pública vai pior do que o Peru". Retrieved 4 December 2019 – via www.estadao.com.br.
85. ^ Montserrat Gomendio; José Ignacio Wert (2023). Dire Straits: Education Reforms, Ideology, Vested Interests and Evidence. doi:10.11647/OBP.0332. ISBN 978-1-80064-930-9. S2CID 256890161.

## External links

[edit]

* OECD/PISA website
* OECD (1999). Measuring Student Knowledge and Skills: A New Framework for Assessment. Paris: OECD. ISBN 92-64-17053-7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 March 2005.
* OECD (2014). "PISA 2012 results: Creative problem solving: Students' skills in tackling real-life problems".
* OECD's Education GPS: Interactive data from PISA 2015
* PISA Data Explorer
* Gunda Tire: "Estonians believe in education, and this belief has been essential for centuries"—Interview of Gunda Tire, OECD PISA National Project Manager, for Caucasian Journal
* QEdu – PISA scores and percentage of adequate learning by country

* v
* t
* e

Lists of countries by population statistics

Global|

* Current population
* United Nations
* Demographics of the world

Continents/subregions|

* Africa
* Antarctica
* Asia
* Europe
* North America
* Caribbean
* Oceania
* South America

Intercontinental|

* Americas
* Arab world
* Commonwealth of Nations
* Eurasia
* European Union
* Islands
* Latin America
* Middle East

Cities/urban areas|

* World cities
* National capitals
* Megacities
* Megalopolises

Past and future|

* Past and future population
* Estimates of historical world population
* Human population projections
* 1
* 1000
* 1500
* 1600
* 1700
* 1800
* 1900
* 1939
* 1989
* 2000
* 2005
* 2010
* 2015
* Population milestones

Population density|

* Current density
* Past and future population density
* Person-to-arable land ratio

Growth indicators|

* Population growth rate
* Natural increase
* Net reproduction rate
* Number of births
* Number of deaths
* Birth rate
* Mortality rate
* Fertility rate
* Past fertility rate

Life expectancy|

* World
* Africa
* Asia
* Europe
* North America
* Oceania
* South America
* world regions
* past life expectancy

Other demographics|

* Age at childbearing
* Age at first marriage
* Age structure
* Dependency ratio
* Divorce rate
* Ethnic and cultural diversity level
* Ethnic composition
* Immigrant population
* Linguistic diversity
* Median age
* Net migration rate
* Number of households
* Religion / Irreligion
* Sex ratio
* Urban population
* Urbanization

Health|

* Antidepressant consumption
* Antiviral medications for pandemic influenza
* HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate
* Infant and under-five mortality rates
* Maternal mortality rate
* Obesity rate
* Percentage suffering from undernourishment
* Health expenditure by country by type of financing
* Suicide rate
* Total health expenditure per capita
* Health spending as % of GDP
* Body mass index (BMI)

Education and innovation|

* Bloomberg Innovation Index
* Education Index
* Global Innovation Index
* International Innovation Index
* Literacy rate
* Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies
* Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)
* Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)
* Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)
* Tertiary education attainment
* World Intellectual Property Indicators

Economic|

* Access to financial services
* Development aid donors
* Official Development Assistance received
* Employment rate
* Irrigated land area
* Human Development Index
* by country
* inequality-adjusted
* planetary pressures–adjusted HDI
* Human Poverty Index
* Imports
* Exports
* Income equality
* Labour force
* Share of income of top 1%
* Number of millionaires (US dollars)
* Number of billionaires (US dollars)
* Percentage living in poverty
* Public sector
* Unemployment rate
* Wealth inequality

* List of international rankings
* Lists by country

* v
* t
* e

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

History|

* Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
* OECD Anti-Bribery Convention
* Programme for International Student Assessment
* Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies

Guidelines|

* Multinational Enterprises
* Testing of Chemicals

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* 2

National|

* Germany
* United States
* Czech Republic
* 2
* Portugal
* Israel

Academics|

* CiNii

People|

* Trove

Other|

* IdRef
* Yale LUX

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template