OECD: Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009

PISA, the Programme for International Student Assessment, which evaluates the quality, equity and efficiency of school systems in some 70 countries that, together, make up nine teenths of the world economy. PISA represents a commitment by governments to monitor the outcomes of education systems regularly within an internationally agreed framework and it provides a basis for international collaboration in defining and implementing educational policies. The results from the 2009 PISA assessment reveal wide differences in educational outcomes across countries. The education systems that have been able to secure strong and equitable learning outcomes, and to mobilise rapid improvements, show others what is possible to achieve.



Figure: This visualization allows you to interactively investigate mean scores for educational performance in your country for Reading, Mathematics and Science. Select a country with mouse click. The country is highlighted in both views. You can select more than country simultaneously by pressing CTR button at the same time. The (?) icons give you more information how to navigate these two graphs.

Top-performing countries or economies in reading literacy include Hong Kong-China (with a mean score of 533), Singapore (526), Canada (524), New Zealand (521), Japan (520) and Australia (515). The Netherlands (508), Belgium (506), Norway (503), Estonia (501), Switzerland (501), Poland (500), Iceland (500) and Liechtenstein (499) also perform above the OECD mean score of 494, while the United States, Sweden, Germany, Ireland, France, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Portugal, and partner economy Chinese Taipei have scores close to the OECD mean.