PISA, the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment, evaluates the quality, equity and efficiency of school systems throughout the world. The programme represents a commitment made by governments to regularly monitor the outcomes of education systems within an internationally agreed framework.

This spread examines the reading literacy of 15-year-old students and draws on data from the 2009 PISA tests, in which reading was the major focus. A key priority for all countries is to ensure that as many students as possible attain at least Level 2, which corresponds to the essential skills needed to participate effectively and productively in society. Students who fail to reach this level struggle to perform many everyday tasks, and are unlikely to become lifelong learners or do well in the labour market. For countries to gain a competitive advantage in the knowledge economy, efforts should be focused on educating their students to handle complex reading tasks at Levels 5 and 6.

This spread examines the proficiency of 15-year-old students in mathematics and science, drawing on data from the PISA tests. A key priority for all countries is to ensure that as many students as possible attain at least Level 2 in these subjects, which corresponds to the essential skills needed to reason mathematically and scientifically. Students who fail to reach this level will find it difficult to participate fully in society at a time when science and technology play a large role. By contrast, students capable of the advanced thinking required at Levels 5 and 6 could become part of a corps of future innovators who will boost their countries’ technological and innovative capacities in science- and math-related industries.

All countries face the challenge of providing their students with equitable learning opportunities, as performance differences related to student background are evident in every country. But PISA results show that some countries have been more successful than others in minimizing the impact of socio-economic background on students’ performance in reading. Despite the strong association between socio-economic background and reading performance, many students from disadvantaged backgrounds confound predictions and perform well. Thus educators must not assume that someone from a disadvantaged background is incapable of high achievement.

This spread examines the performance differences related to immigrant status. In general, students with an immigrant background are socio-economically disadvantaged, and this accounts for part of the performance disadvantage among these students. They face considerable challenges in reading and other aspects of education. In general, they continue to show lower levels of performance even after their socio-economic background is taken into account. However, the differences in performance vary greatly, and in some countries, students from an immigrant background perform just as well as their non-immigrant peers.

Students who enjoy reading, and therefore make it a regular part of their lives, are able to build their reading skills through practice. PISA reveals strong associations between reading enjoyment and performance. This does not mean that enjoyment of reading has a direct impact on reading scores, but rather that it is an important precondition for becoming an effective reader. Therefore, to bolster reading performance, schools need to both instruct students in reading techniques as well as foster an interest in reading.