Student performance at age 15 has long term implications for self-sufficiency. Student performance in the OECD PISA tests reflects the cumulative effect of educational inputs from family, schools, peers and the community up to age 15.
The 2022 PISA edition was the first after the COVID‑19 pandemic. On average across OECD countries, the mean score dropped by almost 15 points in mathematics and 10 points in reading between 2018 and 2022, while it did not significantly change in science (Figure 5.10, Panel A, B, and C). In mathematics, Japan and Korea achieved the highest scores both in 2018 and 2022 (Figure 5.10, Panel A), whereas the Latin American countries (Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico) recorded the lowest scores in both years. Country scores for reading and science followed a similar pattern to those of mathematics, with certain exceptions. In reading (Figure 5.10, Panel B), in 2022, Canada and Finland dropped to the fifth and tenth highest scores from the second highest scores in 2018. In science, the Netherlands experienced a 15‑point drop since 2018 (Figure 5.10, Panel C). Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico recorded the lowest scores for reading and science within OECD countries in both 2018 and 2022. In non-OECD economies, Macao (China) and Hong Kong (China) achieved the highest scores in mathematics, reading, and science in the same period.
Disparities in student performance between boys and girls are another indicator of fairness in education. Across OECD countries in 2022, boys outperformed girls by 9 score points in mathematics, girls outperformed boys by 24 score points in reading and the difference was non-significant in science (Figure 5.11). Boys achieved a higher score than girls in mathematics in 26 OECD countries and the widest gaps in performance in favour of boys (15 scores points or more) were observed in Austria, Chile, Costa Rica and Italy. In contrast to mathematics, girls performed better than boys in reading in all PISA participating countries; however, in Chile and Costa Rica the difference in reading performance between boys and girls was not statistically significant. Within OECD economies, the widest gaps in reading performance in favour of girls (40 score points or more) were recorded for Finland, Norway and Slovenia. The difference in science performance between boys and girls was significant in 12 OECD economies (but not across the OECD). In non-OECD countries, Macao (China) recorded the highest score difference in favour of boys in mathematics, whereas Bulgaria and Croatia recorded the highest score difference in favour of girls in science and reading, respectively.
An additional indicator for measuring equity in education is student’s socio‑economic status. This is measured in PISA through the index of economic, social, and cultural status (ESCS). On average across the OECD, performance differences in mathematics, reading, and science between students at the top and the bottom quarter of the ESCS have increased since 2018 (Figure 5.12). This indicates greater disparity in performance between socio‑economically advantaged and disadvantaged students. In Austria, Italy, the Slovak Republic and the United States, the gap particularly increased in sciences. However, for many countries, results in 2022 were not statistically different from the results in 2018. Within non-OECD economies, performance differences between students at the top and bottom quarter of the ESCS decreased for all three subjects in Argentina since 2018.
