The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) assesses the knowledge and skills of 15-year-old students in mathematics, reading and science. The tests explore how well students can solve complex problems, think critically and communicate effectively. This gives insights into how well education systems are preparing students for real life challenges and future success. Albania participated for the first time in PISA in 2001. By comparing results internationally, policy makers and educators in Albania can learn from other countries’ policies and practices.
PISA 2022 Results (Volume I and II) - Country Notes: Albania
Average 2022 results were down compared to 2018 in mathematics, reading and science.
In Albania, students reported spending significantly less effort on PISA in 2022 in comparison to 2018, and there are clear indications that students did not engage seriously throughout the test and questionnaire (see Annex A7 in PISA 2022 Results, Volume I). Results must therefore be interpreted with caution.
This PISA test was originally due to be conducted in 2021 but was delayed by one year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The exceptional circumstances throughout this period, including lockdowns and school closures in many countries, led to occasional difficulties in collecting some data. While the vast majority of countries and economies met PISA’s technical standards, a small number did not. A country or economy in this note with an asterisk (*) next to its name means that caution is required when interpreting estimates because one or more PISA sampling standards were not reached. Further information can be found in the Reader’s Guide and in Annexes A2 and A4 of the main report.
The drop in the results of the students in Albania observed in PISA 2022 appears to be related to different factors. At the end of 2019, a strong earthquake hit Albania, causing important damages to infrastructure, including schools and houses, across 12 main cities. About half of the students participating in PISA 2022 (50.5%) are originally from the cities most hit by the earthquake. Until April 2022, when PISA was conducted, these students have been studying outside of their regular schools, with shifts and reduced teaching hours. The Covid-19 pandemic added to the challenges faced by the education system in Albania in 2020 and 2021: the state of the digital infrastructure posed great difficulties to the effective use of online and distance learning. The disruptions caused by the earthquake and by Covid-19 on the psycho-social life of students may have had a negative impact on the engagement of students in PISA 2022.
In 2022, 86% of students in Albania reported that they make friends easily at school (OECD average: 76%) and 85% felt that they belong at school (OECD average: 75%). Meanwhile, 15% reported feeling lonely at school, and 15% like an outsider or left out of things at school (OECD average: 16% and 17%). Compared to 2018, students’ sense of belonging at school declined in Albania.
Students’ satisfaction with life, more generally, declined in many countries and economies over recent years. In 2022, 12% of students in Albania reported that they were not satisfied with their lives: they rated their satisfaction with life between 0 and 4 on a scale ranging from 0 to 10. In 2018, fewer students were not satisfied with life (5%). On average across OECD countries, the proportion of students who are not satisfied with life increased from 11% in 2015 to 16% in 2018 and 18% in 2022.
Note: Numbers inside the figure correspond to percentages.
Source: OECD, PISA 2022 Database, Table II.B1.1.4.
In Albania, 75% of students reported that, in most mathematics lessons, the teacher shows an interest in every student’s learning (OECD average: 63%), and 76% that the teacher gives extra help when students need it (OECD average: 70%). In 2012, the corresponding shares were 78% and 81%. Mathematics results in 2022 tended to decline less, on average, in education systems where more students reported that teachers give extra help when students need it, compared to ten years earlier.
Many students study mathematics in a disciplinary climate that is not favourable to learning: in 2022, about 25% of students in Albania reported that they cannot work well in most or all lessons (OECD average: 23%); 28% of students do not listen to what the teacher says (OECD average: 30%); 25% of students get distracted using digital devices (OECD average: 30%); and 24% get distracted by other students who are using digital devices (OECD average: 25%). On average across OECD countries, students were less likely to report getting distracted using digital devices when the use of cell phones on school premises is banned.
PISA 2022 data show that in education systems where performance remained high and students’ sense of belonging improved, students tended to feel safer and less exposed to bullying and other risks at their school.
In Albania, 8% of students reported not feeling safe on their way to school (OECD average: 8%); 6% of students reported not feeling safe in their classrooms at school (OECD average: 7%); 9% of students reported not feeling safe at other places at school (e.g. hallway, cafeteria, restroom) (OECD average: 10%).
PISA data collected from school principals show that the percentage of parents who were involved in school and learning decreased substantially between 2018 and 2022 in many countries/economies. This was also the case in Albania. In 2022, 56% of students in Albania were in schools whose principal reported that during the previous academic year at least half of all families discussed their child’s progress with a teacher on their own initiative (and 64% on the teacher’s initiative). In 2018, the corresponding number was 70% (and 78%). Systems that had more positive trends in parental involvement between 2018 and 2022 (i.e. systems in which the share of parents who discussed their child’s progress with a teacher on their own initiative shrank less) tended to show more stable or improved performance in mathematics.
The PISA 2022 survey focused on mathematics, with reading and science as minor areas and creative thinking as the innovative area of assessment. PISA 2022 also included an assessment of young people’s financial literacy, which was optional for countries and economies. Results for mathematics, reading and science are released on 5 December 2023 and results for creative thinking and financial literacy in 2024.
Some 690 000 students took the assessment in 2022, representing about 29 million 15-year-olds in the schools of the 81 participating countries and economies.
In Albania, 6129 students, in 274 schools, completed the assessment in mathematics, reading or science, representing about 28 400 15-year-old students (79% of the total population of 15-year-olds).
Students took two hour-long tests, each devoted to one subject. Different students were given different test questions and different combinations of subjects (e.g. mathematics followed by reading, or science followed by mathematics, etc.). Test items were a mixture of multiple-choice questions and questions requiring students to construct their own responses.
Students also answered a background questionnaire, which took about 35 minutes to complete. The questionnaire sought information about the students themselves, their attitudes, dispositions and beliefs, their homes, and their school and learning experiences. School principals completed a questionnaire about school management, organisation, and the learning environment.
Some countries/economies also distributed additional questionnaires, to students, parents and/or teachers, to elicit more information. The findings from these optional questionnaires are not covered by this note.
References
OECD (2023), PISA 2022 Results (Volume I): The State of Learning and Equity in Education, PISA, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/53f23881-en
OECD (2023), PISA 2022 Results (Volume II): Learning During – and From – Disruption, PISA, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/a97db61c-en
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For more information about PISA 2022 visit www.oecd.org/pisa
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Questions can be directed to the PISA team at the Directorate for Education and Skills: edu.pisa@oecd.org.
This note was written by Francesco Avvisati and Rodolfo Ilizaliturri, Directorate for Education and Skills.
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