PISA 2022 results: Preparing students for a changing world

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Preparing students for a changing world

During years of disruption during which many countries and economies saw student learning outcomes decline, Japan, Korea, Lithuania and Chinese Taipei were able to maintain or improve learning outcomes, fairness in the distribution of learning opportunities, and student well-being.

Singapore led the global league tables in the mathematics assessment, followed by Macao (China), Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong (China)*, Japan, and Korea. While overall performance levels declined, some education systems made progress towards closing the achievement gap.

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Press release
Decline in educational performance only partly attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic

Amidst unprecedented performance drop, some education systems buck the trend

Eighteen countries and economies performed above the OECD average in mathematics, reading and science in 2022. Between 2018 and 2022, mean performance in mathematics across OECD countries fell by a record 15 points. Reading fell 10 points, twice the previous record, whereas science performance did not change significantly. On average, reading and science trajectories had been falling for a decade, though math had remained stable between 2003-2018. Colombia, Macao (China), Peru and Qatar improved in all three subjects on average since they began to take part in PISA.

Supporting students in and beyond the classroom is key

Socio-economically disadvantaged students in OECD countries are seven times more likely on average than advantaged students not to achieve basic mathematics proficiency. However, across the OECD, 10% of disadvantaged students scored in the top quarter of mathematics performance in their own country. Some countries/economies ensure that students attain a high level of mathematics performance despite socio-economic background. In Macao (China), the most socio-economically disadvantaged students scored higher than the OECD average. Boys outperformed girls in mathematics by 9 points but girls surpassed boys in reading by 24 points on average.

8%

of students suffer food insecurity

30%

of students get distracted by digital devices

20%

of students are bullied at least a few times a month

Key insights

What can we learn from resilient education systems?

1. Keep schools open longer for more students

Across PISA-participating economies, at least half of students experienced COVID-related school closures for three months or more. Systems that spared more students from longer school closures scored higher while their students enjoyed a greater sense of belonging at school.

2. Prepare students for autonomous learning

Students whose teachers were available when schools were closed scored higher in mathematics and were more confident about self-directed learning. Most were confident about using digital learning platforms & finding learning resources, but only 60% were confident about motivating themselves to do schoolwork.

3. Build strong foundations for learning and well-being for all students

More than ten per cent of students in some OECD countries suffer economic food insecurity, others have rates below three per cent. Between one in twenty and one in ten students disagreed that they feel safe in schools on average across OECD countries.

4. Limit the distractions caused by using digital devices in class

Students who spent up to one hour per day on digital devices for learning activities in school scored 14 points higher on average in mathematics than students who spent no time. Enforced cell phone bans in class may help reduce distractions but can also hinder the ability of students to self-regulate their use of the devices.

5. Strengthen school-family partnerships and keep parents involved in student learning

Higher-performing students reported that their family regularly eats the main meal together, spends time just talking with them, or asks them what they did in school that day. They also report better sense of belonging and life satisfaction.

6. Delay the age at selection into different education programmes

In systems where students are selected into different curricular programmes at an earlier age, a stronger association between students’ socio-economic background and their performance is observed.

7. Provide additional support to struggling students instead of requiring them to repeat a grade

Education systems where fewer students had repeated a grade tend to score higher and achieve socio-economic fairness. On average across the OECD, teacher support to students deteriorated from 2012 to 2022. Some 30% of students did not report that the teacher regularly gave extra help when students needed it and continued teaching until students understood.

8. Ensure adequate, high-quality education staff and materials

On average, school principals in 2022 were more likely to report a shortage of teaching staff than in 2018, while they were less likely to report a shortage of educational material than in 2018.

9. Establish schools as a hubs for social interaction

In systems where peer-to-peer tutoring became more prevalent between 2018 and 2022, students’ sense of belonging at school strengthened during the period.

10. Combine school autonomy and quality assurance mechanisms

The greater the autonomy granted to schools, the higher the average mathematics performance, but this was more likely when education authorities and schools had certain quality assurance mechanisms in place.

PISA 2022 Results

(Volume I)

The State of Learning and Equity in Education

Volume I, The State of Learning and Equity in Education, describes students’ performance in mathematics, reading and science; examines gender differences in performance; and investigates how performance relates to students’ socio-economic status and immigrant background.

Volume I

(Volume II)

Learning During – and From – Disruption

Volume II, Learning During – and From – Disruption, focuses on resilience in education and analyses its relevance for education systems, schools and students.

Volume II

* Caution is required when interpreting estimates because one or more PISA sampling standards were not met (see Reader’s Guide, Annexes A2 and A4)