Indicator 14: Changes in 15-Year-Olds' Performance in Reading, Mathematics, and Science Literacy

G-20 Countries Included: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States

In science, there were fewer observed differences in 15-yearolds' performance over time than in reading or mathematics, with 11 countries (including the United States) showing no measurable change from 2006 or 2009 to 2012.

In order to provide information on changes in student performance, PISA has been conducted every 3 years since 2000. Drawing on these data, Indicator 14 examines how the mean performance of 15-year-old students in reading, mathematics, and science literacy in 2012 (the most recent assessment year) has changed since 2009 (the next most recent assessment year) and the initial year in which the subject was a major domain (2000 for reading, 2003 for mathematics, and 2006 for science). For each subject, the indicator first identifies the countries in which there have been changes in students' mean scores and then describes the time period or periods over which that change occurred.

In reading literacy, there were differences in mean scores over time in 11 of the 15 G-20 countries participating in at least two cycles of PISA; most of the differences were in the direction of growth (figure 14-1). In 6 countries (Brazil, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the Russian Federation), students' mean scores were higher in 2012 than in 2000. In 3 of these countries (Germany, Japan, and the Russian Federation), scores were also higher in 2012 than in 2009, as they were in France and Turkey. Students' mean scores decreased in Argentina, Australia, and Canada from 2000 to 2012. There were no measurable changes in the reading literacy scores of 15-year-olds in Italy, Mexico, and the United States over either time period.

In mathematics literacy, there were differences in mean scores over time in 11 of the 15 G-20 countries participating in at least two cycles of PISA, with most of the differences again in the direction of growth. In 8 countries (Brazil, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, and Turkey), students' mean scores were higher in 2012 than in 2003. The Russian Federation was the only participating country with a higher score in 2012 than in 2009. Students' mean scores decreased in Australia and Canada over both time periods (from 2003 and 2009 to 2012), in France from 2003 to 2012, and in Mexico from 2009 to 2012. There were no measurable changes in the mathematics literacy scores of 15-year-olds in Japan or the United States over either time period, nor in Argentina and the United Kingdom between 2009 and 2012. (Neither of the latter countries have data for the 2003 to 2012 period.)

In science literacy, there were fewer differences in mean scores over time than in the other subjects. Only in Brazil, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Turkey did 15-year-old students' mean scores increase, and the increase occurred over only one time period (from 2006 to 2012). Canadian students' mean scores, in contrast, decreased from 2006 to 2012. Again, there were no measurable changes in the science literacy scores of U.S. students and those in 10 other countries.

Looking across subject areas, Brazil, the Republic of Korea, and Turkey showed increases in students' mean scores over time in all three subject areas, and five countries (Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, and the Russian Federation) showed increases in two subjects. In Canada, students' mean scores decreased in all three subjects over time and Australia showed decreases in two subjects.

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Definitions and Methodologie

In PISA 2012, countries were required to sample students who were between the ages of 15 years and 3 months and 16 years and 2 months at the time of the assessment and who had completed at least 6 years of formal schooling, regardless of the type of institution in which they were enrolled.

PISA scores are reported on a scale from 0 to 1,000, with the scale average fixed at 500 and the standard deviation fixed at 100. The PISA achievement scales were designed to reliably measure student achievement over time, and the metric of the scales was established for reading in 2000, mathematics in 2003, and science in 2006.

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