Sample Assessment Questions

The items below are examples of questions 15-year-olds were asked to answer for PISA. When you click an item in one of the four subject categories, you will see the item image and links to the item questions. Click on these links and a new window will open with a question, its answer, and the percent of students in the United States and other OECD countries who answered correctly.

Labor

Question 1 and Answer (Level 4 - full credit & Level 3 - partial credit)   |   Question 2 and Answer (Level 5 - full credit & Level 2 - partial credit)

The tree diagram above shows the structure of a country's labor force or "working-age population". The total population of the country in 1995 was about 3.4 million.Notes

1. Numbers of people are given in thousands (000s).

2. The working-age population is defined as people between the ages of 15 and 65.

3. People "Not in labor force" are those not actively seeking work and/or not available for work.

Use the information about a country's labor force on the opposite page to answer the questions below.

PISA's definition of literacy

For more sample questions from the PISA assessments view this OECD publication:
Take the Test: Sample Questions from OECD's PISA Assessments