Irish 15-year-olds above OECD average in science, maths

The latest triennial report from the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) puts Asian education firmly ahead of European and other western systems.

According to the results, the performances of Greek students in science and reading have been deteriorating since 2006. But this year Swiss education officials have complained about changes to the methodology.

In the latest Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) worldwide student assessment study, Canada and Finland are tied for fourth overall, behind only Japan, Estonia and Singapore.

The survey comprised a total sample of 535,791 students from seventy-two countries and economies, including all European Union countries.

It is important to note that Luxembourg’s 2012 PISA results were a considerable improvement on 2009’s figures.

National Center on Education and the Economy President Marc Tucker said the test proves the USA needs to look at what works for “smarter countries” around the world and adopt those methods.

But where Norwegian students really distinguish themselves is when it comes to reading. The evaluation takes place every three years. This year, that subject was science.

This year Canada topped the OECD in reading with 527 points, while Japan ranked first in both math and science with 532 and 538 points. Students with an immigrant background, do not perform as well in science as students without an immigrant background.

The share of higher performers in reading among boys in Scotland was smaller than the OECD but girls had a similar share.

New Zealand ranked 12th in science (up from 18th in 2012), 10th in reading (up from 13th) and 21st in maths (up from 23rd).

The Ministry of Education (MOE) said the results showed that its shift towards applied learning has been effective.

“The U.S. spends a large amount of money on education and students spend many more hours per week studying than other countries, without getting the results”, Schleicher said.

Launched in 2000, the PISA survey is carried out every three years.

The average spent by the PISA-participating countries is $90,000 per student.

Massachusetts, North Carolina and Puerto Rico participated as global benchmarking systems and received separate scores from the United States.

The results also show gender differences, with with girls performing better than boys in reading.