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.

Movie

Question 1 and Answer   |   Question 2 and Answer

This problem is about finding a suitable time and date to go to the cinema.

Isaac, a 15-year-old, wants to organize a cinema outing with two of his friends, who are of the same age, during the one-week school vacation. The vacation begins on Saturday, March 24th and ends on Sunday, April 1st.

Isaac asks his friends for suitable dates and times for the outing. The following information is what he received.

Fred: “I have to stay home on Monday and Wednesday afternoons for music practice between 2:30 and 3:30”

Stanley: “I have to visit grandmother on Sundays, so it can’t be Sundays. I have seen Pokamin and don’t want to see it again.”

Isaac’s parents insist that he only goes to movies suitable for his age and does not walk home. They will pick up the boys home at any time up to 10 p.m.

Isaac checks the movie times for the vacation week. Above is the information that he finds.

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