The eighth round of the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022, originally scheduled for 2021 and postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is the first large-scale study with data on how the pandemic affected student performance.
The PISA 2022 tested nearly 700,000 15-year-old students in 81 OECD member countries and partner economies in mathematics, reading, and science.
Overall, on average, the PISA 2022 assessment recorded an unprecedented decline in student performance across almost all OECD countries. Compared to 2018, the average performance dropped by 10 points in reading and nearly 15 points in mathematics.
The sharp decline in mathematics performance is three times greater than any previous change and is particularly significant in countries such as Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Poland, which recorded a drop of 25 points or more in mathematics between 2018 and 2022.
On the positive side, many countries, including Cambodia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Morocco, Paraguay, and Romania, have rapidly expanded access to education over the past decade, making significant progress towards universal secondary education.
In mathematics, Singapore and five other East Asian educational systems—Macau (China), Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong (China), Japan, and Korea—outperformed all others. These same countries and economies also excelled in science, along with Estonia and Canada. In reading, Ireland performed as well as Japan, Korea, Chinese Taipei, and Estonia.
Brazil Below Global Average
Brazil remained stable in scores in mathematics, reading, and science; however, less than 50% of students achieved the minimum learning level in mathematics and science.
“The average results for 2022 were practically the same as in 2018 in mathematics, reading, and science. PISA results have remained stable over a long period: after 2009, in all three subjects, only small and mostly insignificant fluctuations were observed,” says the report on the performance of Brazilian students.
With the 2022 results, Brazil continues to be in the below-average group of OECD countries in all three subjects. In science, for example, Brazil is at least four years behind OECD members.
In the ranking, Brazil placed 64th in mathematics, 53rd in reading, and 61st in science, behind other Latin Americans such as Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Mexico, and Costa Rica.
Source: PISA and Agência Brasil