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Table B.1.50. Percentage distribution of 15-year-old students in PISA on reading literacy scale, by proficiency level and country: 2009
Country Below level 1b   Level 1b   Level 1a   Level 2   Level 3   Level 4   Level 5   Level 6
Percent   s.e.   Percent   s.e.   Percent   s.e.   Percent   s.e.   Percent   s.e.   Percent   s.e.   Percent   s.e.   Percent   s.e.
OECD average 1   0.1   5   0.1   13   0.1   24   0.2   29   0.2   21   0.2   7   0.1   1   #
                                                               
OECD countries                                                              
Australia 1   0.1   3   0.3   10   0.4   20   0.6   29   0.7   24   0.7   11   0.5   2   0.3
Austria 2   0.4   8   0.8   18   1.0   24   1.0   26   0.9   17   0.9   5   0.5   #  
Belgium 1   0.3   5   0.5   12   0.6   20   0.7   26   0.9   25   0.8   10   0.5   1   0.2
Canada #     2   0.2   8   0.3   20   0.6   30   0.7   27   0.6   11   0.4   2   0.2
Chile 1   0.2   7   0.8   22   1.0   33   1.1   26   1.2   9   0.7   1   0.3   #  
Czech Republic 1 ! 0.3   6   0.6   17   1.1   27   1.0   27   1.0   17   1.0   5   0.5   #  
Denmark #     3   0.3   12   0.7   26   0.9   33   1.2   21   1.1   4   0.5   #  
Estonia #     2   0.4   11   0.9   26   1.3   34   1.0   21   0.8   5   0.5   1 ! 0.2
Finland #     2   0.2   6   0.4   17   0.6   30   0.9   31   0.9   13   0.7   2   0.2
France 2   0.5   6   0.5   12   0.8   21   1.0   27   1.0   22   1.1   9   0.8   1   0.3
Germany 1   0.2   4   0.5   13   0.8   22   0.9   29   1.1   23   0.9   7   0.6   1   0.2
Greece 1   0.4   6   0.9   14   1.1   26   1.1   29   1.2   18   1.0   5   0.5   1   0.2
Hungary 1 ! 0.2   5   0.8   12   1.0   24   1.2   31   1.3   22   1.1   6   0.7   #  
Iceland 1   0.2   4   0.4   12   0.7   22   0.8   31   0.9   22   0.8   8   0.6   1   0.2
Ireland 2   0.4   4   0.5   12   0.7   23   1.0   31   0.9   22   0.9   6   0.5   1 ! 0.2
Israel 4   0.7   8   0.7   15   0.6   23   1.0   26   1.0   18   0.7   6   0.5   1   0.2
Italy 1   0.2   5   0.3   14   0.5   24   0.5   29   0.6   20   0.5   5   0.3   #  
Japan 1   0.4   3   0.5   9   0.7   18   0.8   28   0.9   27   1.0   12   0.7   2   0.4
Korea, Republic of     1 ! 0.3   5   0.6   15   1.0   33   1.2   33   1.4   12   1.0   1   0.2
Luxembourg 3   0.3   7   0.5   16   0.6   24   0.7   27   0.7   17   0.6   5   0.4   1 ! 0.2
Mexico 3   0.3   11   0.5   26   0.6   33   0.6   21   0.6   5   0.4   0   0.1   #  
Netherlands     2   0.3   13   1.4   25   1.5   28   1.2   24   1.7   9   1.0   1 ! 0.2
New Zealand 1   0.2   3   0.5   10   0.6   19   0.8   26   0.8   25   0.8   13   0.8   3   0.4
Norway 1   0.1   3   0.4   11   0.7   24   0.8   31   0.9   22   1.2   8   0.9   1   0.2
Poland 1   0.2   3   0.4   11   0.7   25   1.1   31   1.0   22   1.0   7   0.6   1   0.2
Portugal 1   0.1   4   0.4   13   1.0   26   1.1   32   1.1   20   0.9   5   0.5   #  
Slovak Republic 1 ! 0.3   6   0.6   16   0.8   28   1.0   29   1.1   17   0.8   4   0.5   #  
Slovenia 1   0.1   5   0.3   15   0.5   26   0.7   29   0.9   19   0.8   4   0.5   #  
Spain 1   0.2   5   0.4   14   0.6   27   0.8   33   1.0   18   0.7   3   0.3    
Sweden 2   0.3   4   0.4   12   0.7   24   1.0   30   1.0   20   0.9   8   0.6   1   0.3
Switzerland 1   0.2   4   0.4   12   0.6   23   0.7   30   0.8   23   0.8   7   0.7   1 ! 0.2
Turkey 1   0.2   6   0.6   18   1.0   32   1.2   29   1.1   12   1.1   2   0.4   #  
United Kingdom 1   0.2   4   0.4   13   0.6   25   0.7   29   0.8   20   0.8   7   0.5   1   0.2
United States 1   0.1   4   0.5   13   0.8   24   0.9   28   0.8   21   0.9   8   0.8   2   0.4
                                                               
Non-OECD countries                                                              
Albania 11   0.9   19   1.3   27   1.2   26   1.3   14   1.2   3   0.5       #  
Argentina 11   1.1   16   1.3   25   1.3   25   1.2   16   1.0   6   0.8   1   0.2    
Azerbaijan 10   1.1   26   1.1   37   1.2   22   1.2   5   0.8   1 ! 0.2   #     #  
Brazil 5   0.4   16   0.7   29   0.8   27   0.8   16   0.9   6   0.5   1   0.2    
Bulgaria 8   1.1   13   1.4   20   1.4   23   1.2   22   1.4   11   1.1   3   0.5   #  
Chinese Taipei 1   0.2   4   0.4   11   0.6   25   0.8   34   1.1   21   1.0   5   0.8   #  
Colombia 4   0.7   14   1.0   29   1.2   31   1.1   17   1.0   5   0.5   1 ! 0.2   #  
Croatia 1   0.2   5   0.5   17   1.0   27   1.0   31   1.2   16   1.0   3   0.4    
Dubai-UAE 4   0.2   9   0.5   18   0.5   25   0.7   24   0.8   15   0.7   5   0.5   1 ! 0.2
Hong Kong-China #     2   0.3   7   0.6   16   0.8   31   0.9   32   0.9   11   0.7   1   0.3
Indonesia 2   0.4   14   1.3   38   1.6   34   1.4   11   1.4   1 ! 0.3   #     #  
Jordan 7   0.6   14   0.8   28   1.0   32   1.0   17   1.0   3   0.4   #     #  
Kazakhstan 8   0.7   20   1.0   31   0.9   24   0.9   13   0.9   4   0.5   #     #  
Kyrgyz Republic 30   1.3   30   0.9   24   0.9   12   0.8   4   0.6   1   0.3       #  
Latvia #     3   0.6   14   1.0   29   1.5   34   1.2   17   1.0   3   0.4    
Liechtenstein #     3 ! 1.2   13   1.8   24   2.9   31   2.8   25   2.3   4 ! 1.4    
Lithuania 1   0.3   6   0.6   18   0.9   30   1.0   29   0.9   14   0.8   3   0.4   #  
Macao-China #     3   0.3   12   0.4   31   0.6   35   0.7   17   0.5   3   0.3    
Montenegro, Republic of 6   0.5   16   0.8   28   0.8   28   0.9   17   0.9   5   0.5   1   0.2   #  
Panama 13   1.8   23   1.8   29   1.8   21   1.4   10   1.4   3   0.7   1 ! 0.2   #  
Peru 14   0.9   22   1.0   29   1.1   22   0.9   10   0.9   3   0.5   #     #  
Qatar 18   0.3   22   0.5   23   0.6   18   0.4   11   0.5   5   0.3   2   0.2   #  
Romania 4   0.7   13   1.1   24   1.3   32   1.3   21   1.3   6   0.7   1   0.2   #  
Russian Federation 2   0.4   7   0.6   19   0.8   32   1.0   27   0.9   11   0.7   3   0.4   #  
Serbia, Republic of 2   0.4   9   0.7   22   0.9   33   1.0   25   1.0   8   0.6   1   0.2   #  
Shanghai-China #     1   0.1   3   0.5   13   0.9   29   1.2   35   1.0   17   1.0   2   0.5
Singapore #     3   0.3   9   0.5   19   0.6   28   0.8   26   0.7   13   0.5   3   0.3
Thailand 1   0.3   10   0.8   32   1.1   37   1.2   17   0.8   3   0.5       #  
Trinidad and Tobago 10   0.5   14   0.6   21   0.8   25   0.9   19   0.9   9   0.5   2   0.3   #  
Tunisia 6   0.5   15   0.8   30   1.1   32   1.2   15   1.0   3   0.5       #  
Uruguay 6   0.6   13   0.7   24   0.7   28   0.7   20   0.7   8   0.5   2   0.3    
† Not applicable.
# Rounds to zero.
! Interpret data with caution.
‡ Reporting standards not met.
NOTE: To reach a particular proficiency level, a student must correctly answer a majority of items at that level. Students were classified into reading literacy levels according to their scores. Exact cut point scores are as follows: below level 1b (a score less than or equal to 262.04); level 1b (a score greater than 262.04 and less than or equal to .334.75); level 1a (a score greater than 334.75 and less than or equal to 407.47); level 2 (a score greater than 407.47 and less than or equal to 480.18); level 3 (a score greater than 480.18 and less than or equal to 552.89); level 4 (a score greater than .552.89 and less than or equal to 625.61); level 5 (a score greater than 625.61 and less than or equal to 698.32); and level 6 (a score greater than 698.32). Scores are reported on a scale from 0 to 1,000. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average is the average of the national percentages of the OECD member countries, with each country weighted equally. Because the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) is principally an OECD study, the results for non-OECD countries are displayed separately from those of the OECD countries. Standard error is noted by s.e. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. In the country column, italics indicate non-national entities. UAE refers to United Arab Emirates.
SOURCE: Fleischman, H.L., Hopstock, P. J., Pelczar, M.P, and Shelly, B.E. (2010). Highlights From PISA 2009: Performance of U.S. 15-Year-Old Students in Reading, Mathematics, and Science Literacy in an International Context (NCES 2011-004), supplemental table R7. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.