PISA 2012

PISA 2012 was the fifth survey of the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment, testing about 510 000 students around age 15 in 65 countries and economies on mathematics, science and reading. The test had a special focus on mathematics.^[1] A subgroup of 44 countries and economies with about 85 000 students also took part in an optional computer-based assessment of problem solving.^[2]

Shanghai had the highest score in all three subjects. It was followed by Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea in mathematics; Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and Korea in reading and Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and Finland in science.

Test

About 510 000 students between 15 years, 3 months and 16 years, 2 months took part in the test. They were a sample of about 28 million in the same age group in 65 countries and economies,^[1] including the OECD countries, several Chinese cities, Vietnam, Indonesia and several countries in South America.^[3]

The test lasted two hours, was paper-based and included both open-ended and multiple-choice questions.^[1]

The students and school staff also answered a questionnaire to provide background information about the students and the schools.^[1][3]

Results

PISA 2012 was presented on 3 December 2013, with results for around 510,000 participating students in all 34 OECD member countries and 31 partner countries.^[3] This testing cycle had a particular focus on mathematics, where the mean score was 494. The mean score in reading was 496 and in science 501.

The results show distinct groups of high-performers in mathematics: the East Asian countries, with Shanghai, China, scoring the best result of 613, followed closely by Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. Among the Europeans, Liechtenstein and Switzerland performed best, with Netherlands, Estonia, Finland, Poland, Belgium, Germany, Austria all posting mathematics scores "not significantly statistically different from" one another. The United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand were similarly clustered around the OECD average of 494, with the USA trailing this group at 481.^[3]

Qatar, Kazakhstan and Malaysia were the countries which showed the greatest improvement in mathematics. The USA and the United Kingdom showed no significant change.^[4] Sweden had the greatest fall in mathematics performance over the last ten years, with a similar falling trend also in the two other subjects, and leading politicians in Sweden expressed great worry over the results.^[5][6]

On average boys scored better than girls in mathematics, girls scored better than boys in reading and the two sexes had quite similar scores in science.^[4]

OECD members as of the time of the study are in boldface.

Mathematics	Science	Reading
1 Shanghai, China 613 2  Singapore 573 3  Hong Kong, China 561 4  Taiwan 560 5  South Korea 554 6  Macau, China 538 7  Japan 536 8  Liechtenstein 535 9   Switzerland 531 10  Netherlands 523 11  Estonia 521 12  Finland 519 13=  Canada 518 13=  Poland 518 15  Belgium 515 16  Germany 514 17  Vietnam 511 18  Austria 506 19  Australia 504 20=  Ireland 501 20=  Slovenia 501 22=  Denmark 500 22=  New Zealand 500 24  Czech Republic 499 25  France 495 26  United Kingdom 494 27  Iceland 493 28  Latvia 491 29  Luxembourg 490 30  Norway 489 31  Portugal 487 32  Italy 485 33  Spain 484 34=  Russia 482 34=  Slovakia 482 36  United States 481 37  Lithuania 479 38  Sweden 478 39  Hungary 477 40  Croatia 471 41  Israel 466 42  Greece 453 43  Serbia 449 44  Turkey 448 45  Romania 445 46  Cyprus 440 47  Bulgaria 439 48  United Arab Emirates 434 49  Kazakhstan 432 50  Thailand 427 51  Chile 423 52  Malaysia 421 53  Mexico 413 54  Montenegro 410 55  Uruguay 409 56  Costa Rica 407 57  Albania 394 58  Brazil 391 59=  Argentina 388 59=  Tunisia 388 61  Jordan 386 62=  Colombia 376 62=  Qatar 376 64  Indonesia 375 65  Peru 368	1 Shanghai, China 580 2  Hong Kong, China 555 3  Singapore 551 4  Japan 547 5  Finland 545 6  Estonia 541 7  South Korea 538 8  Vietnam 528 9  Poland 526 10=  Liechtenstein 525 10=  Canada 525 12  Germany 524 13  Taiwan 523 14=  Netherlands 522 14=  Ireland 522 16=  Macau, China 521 16=  Australia 521 18  New Zealand 516 19   Switzerland 515 20=  Slovenia 514 20=  United Kingdom 514 22  Czech Republic 508 23  Austria 506 24  Belgium 505 25  Latvia 502 26  France 499 27  Denmark 498 28  United States 497 29=  Spain 496 29=  Lithuania 496 31  Norway 495 32=  Italy 494 32=  Hungary 494 34=  Luxembourg 491 34=  Croatia 491 36  Portugal 489 37  Russia 486 38  Sweden 485 39  Iceland 478 40  Slovakia 471 41  Israel 470 42  Greece 467 43  Turkey 463 44  United Arab Emirates 448 45  Bulgaria 446 46=  Serbia 445 46=  Chile 445 48  Thailand 444 49  Romania 439 50  Cyprus 438 51  Costa Rica 429 52  Kazakhstan 425 53  Malaysia 420 54  Uruguay 416 55  Mexico 415 56  Montenegro 410 57  Jordan 409 58  Argentina 406 59  Brazil 405 60  Colombia 399 61  Tunisia 398 62  Albania 397 63  Qatar 384 64  Indonesia 382 65  Peru 373	1 Shanghai, China 570 2  Hong Kong, China 545 3  Singapore 542 4  Japan 538 5  South Korea 536 6  Finland 524 7=  Taiwan 523 7=  Canada 523 7=  Ireland 523 10  Poland 518 11=  Liechtenstein 516 11=  Estonia 516 13=  Australia 512 13=  New Zealand 512 15  Netherlands 511 16=  Macau, China 509 16=   Switzerland 509 16=  Belgium 509 19=  Germany 508 19=  Vietnam 508 21  France 505 22  Norway 504 23  United Kingdom 499 24  United States 498 25  Denmark 496 26  Czech Republic 493 27=  Austria 490 27=  Italy 490 29  Latvia 489 30=  Luxembourg 488 30=  Portugal 488 30=  Spain 488 30=  Hungary 488 34  Israel 486 35  Croatia 485 36=  Iceland 483 36=  Sweden 483 38  Slovenia 481 39=  Lithuania 477 39=  Greece 477 41=  Russia 475 41=  Turkey 475 43  Slovakia 463 44  Cyprus 449 45  Serbia 446 46  United Arab Emirates 442 47=  Thailand 441 47=  Chile 441 47=  Costa Rica 441 50  Romania 438 51  Bulgaria 436 52  Mexico 424 53  Montenegro 422 54  Uruguay 411 55  Brazil 410 56  Tunisia 404 57  Colombia 403 58  Jordan 399 59  Malaysia 398 60=  Argentina 396 60=  Indonesia 396 62  Albania 394 63  Kazakhstan 393 64  Qatar 388 65  Peru 384

Indonesia, Albania, Peru, Thailand and Colombia were the countries where most students reported being happy at school, while students in Korea, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Estonia and Finland reported least happiness.^[1]

Specific results and reaction from various countries

China

China didn't participate as a nation, but Shanghai and Hong Kong participated as their own entities. Shanghai who participated for the second time topped the rankings in all three subjects as well as improving their score in the subjects compared to the 2009 tests. Shanghai's score of 613 in mathematics were 113 points about the average score, putting the performance of Shanghai pupils about 3 school years ahead of pupils in average countries. Educational experts debated to which degree the 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.^[7] Hong Kong placed second in reading and science and third in maths.

China is expected to participate as a country in the 2015 tests.^[8]

Finland

Finland, which received several top positions in the first tests, fell in all three subjects, 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 the subject, but only narrowly. It was also the first time pupils in Finnish-speaking schools did not perform better than pupils in Swedish-speaking schools. 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%.^[9]

Sweden

Sweden's result dropped in all three subjects, which was a continuation of a trend from 2006 and 2009. In mathematics, the nation had the sharpest fall in mathematic performance over 10 years among the countries that have participated in all tests, 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.^[10]

The leader of the opposition, Social Democrat Stefan Löfven, described the situation as a national crisis.^[11] Along with the party's spokesperson on education, Ibrahim Baylan, he pointed to the downward trend in reading as most severe.^[11]

United Kingdom

As in 2009, the result was slightly above average for the United Kingdom, with the science ranking being highest (20).^[12] England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland also participated as separated entities, showing the worst result for Wales which in mathematics was 43 of the 65 countries and economies. Minister of Education in Wales Huw Lewis expressed disappointment in the results, said that there was no "quick fixes", but hoped that several educational reform that has been implented the last years would give better results in the next round of tests.^[13]

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.^[12]

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.^[14]

United States

The American result was average in science and reading, but lagged behind in mathematics compared to other developed nations. There was little change from the previous test in 2009.^[15] The result was described as “a picture of educational stagnation” by Education Secretary Arne Duncan,^[16] who said the result was not compatible with the American goal of having the world's best educated workers. Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers stated that an overemphasis on standardised tests contributed to the lack of improvement in education performance.^[17] Dennis Van Roekel of the National Education Association said a failure to address poverty among students had hampered progress.^[15]

About 9% of the U.S. students scored in the top two mathematics levels compared to 13% in all countries and economies.^[15]

For the first time, three U.S. states participated in the tests as separate entities, with Massachusetts scoring well above both the American and international average, particularly in reading.^[17] An approximate corresponding OECD ranking is shown along with the United States average.^[18]

Maths	Science	Reading
16=  Massachusetts 514 18=  Connecticut 506 36 U.S. Average 481 41~  Florida 467	8~  Massachusetts 527 16=  Connecticut 521 28 U.S. Average 497 38=  Florida 485	5~  Massachusetts 527 7~  Connecticut 521 24 U.S. Average 498 26~  Florida 492

References

External links

• Interactive Visualization of 2012 PISA Math Results by Country Profiles