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PISA finds lowest average performance among 760,000 students
OECD results put average student performance at its lowest recorded level, led by declines in reading and mathematics.
What happened
The OECD published its latest PISA results after assessing students across countries and territories. It recorded the lowest average performance observed, with science broadly stable but reading and mathematics down. The assessment covered science, reading and mathematics, and placed no Latin American country among leading systems in all three.
Numbers
- 760,000 studentsFifteen-year-olds in the assessment
- 91 systemsCountries and territories assessed
- 20+ pointsReading and mathematics decline — Roughly a school year
- 7 pointsOECD science decline since 2015
Questions
- Which systems led the subjects?
- Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang led science and mathematics, while Singapore led reading; Macao, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea also ranked highly.
- What explanations did coverage raise?
- It linked weaker outcomes with greater screen use and also raised artificial intelligence as a factor in changing learning.
- How did scores change over time?
- Over the preceding decade, OECD science results also declined, while reading and mathematics fell by larger amounts.
- Who faced the larger gap in Mexico?
- Students from more advantaged backgrounds outscored disadvantaged students in science, with socioeconomic status identified as a determinant of performance.
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The catch
The coverage links screens and AI to results, but does not measure their separate effects.