The PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) study shows the level and diversity of skills of fifteen-year-olds developed during school and outside of school. In each edition of PISA, the focus is on one of three areas: mathematical skills, reading comprehension or reasoning in natural sciences. In the PISA 2022 study, the main domain was mathematical skills.
In the latest edition of the PISA study, the average score of Polish students in terms of mathematical skills was 489 points. Among European Union countries, only Estonian students performed better. The result of Polish students is similar to the results of 11 other countries – Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Denmark, Great Britain, Austria, Australia, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Finland and Latvia (the differences between these countries are statistically insignificant) .
Asian students achieved the best results in mathematics: Singapore, Macau, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The highest places among OECD countries are occupied by Japan, South Korea and Estonia. The average for OECD countries is 472 points. The average best score for Singapore students is 575 points.
The average score of Polish students in reading comprehension was 489 points. In the European Union, Irish and Estonian students performed better than Polish students. Poland’s result is similar to that of seven other countries: Great Britain, Finland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Switzerland and Italy, and is one of the highest among countries of the European Union (the differences between these countries were statistically insignificant). .
The highest results in PISA 2022 were achieved by students from Singapore, Ireland, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Estonia, Macau, Canada, the United States, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Australia. The average for OECD countries is 476 points. The best result in the world was achieved by students from Singapore – 543 points.
In the area of natural science reasoning, Polish students achieved an average score of 499 points. Poland’s result is similar to that of 15-year-olds in New Zealand, Ireland, Switzerland, Slovenia, Great Britain, the United States, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Denmark, Sweden and Germany. Among European Union countries, only Estonian and Finnish students performed better than Polish students.
In terms of scientific skills, fifteen-year-olds from Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and two regions of China (Macau and Hong Kong) are the world leaders. The average for OECD countries is 485 points. The best result in the world was achieved by students from Singapore – 561 points.
Remote learning is not good for students
Deputy Minister of Education and Science Dariusz Piontkowski recalled that the study was carried out in spring 2022. – It was planned a year earlier, but the pandemic caused its postponement. Not only in Poland, but also all over the world. The pandemic itself has also had a clear impact on the results obtained by Polish students, but also those from other countries. – said Piontkowski.
He pointed to a “clearly perceptible decline in student skills.” – It was found that direct contact with teachers has an obvious impact on the degree of student mobilization and the level of their knowledge and skills – noted the deputy minister. He recalled that during the pandemic, students learned remotely for a long time. – The results of Polish students, like those of students from other countries, are noticeably lower – he noted.
At the same time, he emphasized that – “as in previous studies – Polish students are well above the OECD averagewhich shows that the Polish education system is a good system to boast about, which prepares students for these practical skills.
He also pointed out that in the last edition of the study, first year secondary school students participated, while in the previous two editions the participants were third year secondary school students. – An examination was carried out at another time. Previous editions took place just before the lower secondary exam, when students were mobilized and repeated the material. And this time (the interviewed students) were at the beginning of a new educational stage, i.e. in secondary schools, which probably also influenced the results of Polish students. It is clear that they were less mobilized, concludes Piontkowski.
The world’s largest student skills study
The PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) study is organized by an international consortium overseen by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and representatives of member countries. This is the largest study of student skills in the world, implemented every three years in all OECD member countries, as well as in several dozen other countries. Poland has been participating since the beginning, that is, since 2000.
In 2022, 81 countries and regions participated in the study and the number of students surveyed exceeded 690,000. Poland was represented by 6,011 students from 240 schools born in 2006. These were first graders year of secondary school (47% were general secondary school students, 40% technical secondary school students, 12% first cycle students). vocational schools, 1% – primary school students).
