Program for International Student Assessment (PISA): 2012 Results -Problem Solving: Proficiency Levels

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Problem Solving: Proficiency Levels

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2012 Problem Solving Proficiency Levels Description

Table PS1. Percentage distribution of 15-year-old students on PISA problem solving scale, by proficiency level and education system: 2012
Education system	Below level 1		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Level 4		Level 5		Level 6
Education system	Percent	*s.e.*	Percent	*s.e.*	Percent	*s.e.*	Percent	*s.e.*	Percent	*s.e.*	Percent	*s.e.*	Percent		*s.e.*
OECD average (PS)	8.2	0.16	13.2	0.16	22.0	0.18	25.6	0.18	19.6	0.17	8.9	0.14	2.5		0.08
Australia	5.0	0.34	10.5	0.47	19.4	0.51	25.8	0.66	22.6	0.53	12.3	0.48	4.4		0.32
Austria	6.5	0.91	11.9	0.76	21.8	1.11	26.9	1.21	21.9	0.99	9.0	0.77	2.0		0.39
Belgium	9.2	0.62	11.6	0.59	18.3	0.72	24.5	0.65	22.0	0.67	11.4	0.66	3.0		0.33
Brazil	21.9	1.65	25.4	1.43	26.9	1.30	17.4	1.44	6.6	0.83	1.5	0.30	0.4	!	0.15
Bulgaria	33.3	1.87	23.3	1.08	22.1	1.02	14.1	0.84	5.6	0.71	1.4	0.32	‡		†
Canada	5.1	0.39	9.6	0.45	19.0	0.59	25.8	0.73	22.9	0.63	12.4	0.56	5.1		0.42
Chile	15.1	1.32	23.1	1.09	28.6	0.98	22.2	1.00	8.8	0.72	1.9	0.28	0.2	!	0.06
Chinese Taipei	3.4	0.58	8.2	0.59	17.8	0.80	26.3	0.95	25.9	1.02	14.6	0.73	3.8		0.40
Colombia	33.2	1.67	28.3	1.08	22.2	0.94	11.3	0.80	3.9	0.48	0.9	0.24	0.2	!	0.08
Croatia	12.0	1.03	20.2	0.97	26.8	1.17	22.9	1.15	13.2	1.12	4.0	0.61	0.8		0.20
Cyprus	19.6	0.57	20.9	0.64	25.5	0.76	20.4	0.91	10.1	0.58	3.0	0.29	0.5	!	0.21
Czech Republic	6.5	0.70	11.9	0.86	20.7	0.95	27.2	0.90	21.8	0.88	9.5	0.75	2.4		0.32
Denmark	7.3	0.69	13.1	0.69	24.1	0.78	27.8	0.87	19.0	1.08	7.2	0.68	1.6		0.30
Estonia	4.0	0.47	11.1	0.80	21.8	0.71	29.2	1.04	22.2	0.80	9.5	0.65	2.2		0.30
Finland	4.5	0.42	9.9	0.53	20.0	0.90	27.1	1.07	23.5	0.85	11.4	0.58	3.6		0.47
France	6.6	0.86	9.8	0.68	20.5	0.98	28.4	1.08	22.6	0.90	9.9	0.73	2.1		0.35
Germany	7.5	0.85	11.8	0.89	20.3	0.91	25.6	0.98	22.0	1.03	10.1	0.96	2.7		0.42
Hong Kong-China	3.3	0.53	7.1	0.74	16.3	1.00	27.4	1.39	26.5	0.98	14.2	1.09	5.1		0.65
Hungary	17.2	1.34	17.8	0.90	23.9	1.20	22.4	0.93	13.0	0.95	4.6	0.68	1.0		0.23
Ireland	7.0	0.77	13.3	0.86	23.8	0.78	27.8	0.88	18.8	0.79	7.3	0.58	2.1		0.33
Israel	21.9	1.42	17.0	0.91	20.1	0.84	18.5	0.85	13.7	0.93	6.7	0.81	2.1		0.44
Italy	5.2	0.74	11.2	1.15	22.5	1.00	28.0	1.14	22.3	1.14	8.9	0.93	1.8		0.33
Japan	1.8	0.35	5.3	0.55	14.6	0.88	26.9	1.07	29.2	1.02	16.9	1.04	5.3		0.67
Korea, Republic of	2.1	0.32	4.8	0.57	12.9	0.94	23.7	0.96	28.8	0.86	20.0	1.20	7.6		0.89
Macao-China	1.6	0.20	6.0	0.44	17.5	0.61	29.5	0.77	28.9	0.88	13.8	0.62	2.8		0.26
Malaysia	22.7	1.53	27.8	1.23	27.8	1.16	15.7	0.89	5.2	0.61	0.8	0.23	‡		†
Montenegro, Republic of	30.0	0.77	26.8	0.75	23.9	0.99	13.8	0.67	4.6	0.42	0.7	0.20	‡		†
Netherlands	7.4	1.02	11.2	0.99	19.9	1.15	26.0	1.30	22.0	1.23	10.9	1.03	2.7		0.50
Norway	8.1	0.71	13.2	0.73	21.5	0.93	24.7	0.81	19.4	0.82	9.7	0.73	3.4		0.37
Poland	10.0	1.09	15.7	1.00	25.7	0.91	26.0	0.98	15.7	1.00	5.8	0.66	1.1		0.22
Portugal	6.5	0.64	14.1	0.96	25.5	0.93	28.1	0.97	18.4	0.91	6.2	0.60	1.2		0.26
Russian Federation	6.8	0.68	15.4	1.14	27.0	0.90	27.9	1.18	15.7	0.91	5.9	0.71	1.4		0.33
Serbia, Republic of	10.3	1.03	18.3	0.82	26.7	1.39	25.8	1.15	14.3	0.80	4.1	0.39	0.6	!	0.22
Shanghai-China	3.1	0.51	7.5	0.64	17.5	0.79	27.4	1.09	26.2	0.99	14.1	0.87	4.1		0.56
Singapore	2.0	0.21	6.0	0.38	13.8	0.58	21.9	0.69	27.0	0.96	19.7	0.72	9.6		0.42
Slovak Republic	10.7	1.13	15.4	1.12	24.3	0.96	25.6	1.30	16.2	1.17	6.3	0.60	1.6	!	0.49
Slovenia	11.4	0.59	17.1	0.99	25.4	1.24	23.7	0.84	15.8	0.79	5.8	0.51	0.9		0.24
Spain	13.1	1.20	15.3	0.79	23.6	0.91	24.2	0.95	15.9	0.85	6.2	0.59	1.6		0.26
Sweden	8.8	0.74	14.6	0.78	23.9	0.94	26.3	0.79	17.6	0.69	7.0	0.51	1.8		0.27
Turkey	11.0	1.05	24.8	1.33	31.4	1.43	21.2	1.15	9.4	1.13	2.0	0.48	‡		†
United Arab Emirates	30.3	1.21	24.6	0.84	22.0	0.73	14.2	0.57	6.4	0.40	2.1	0.20	0.4		0.07
United Kingdom	5.5	0.79	10.8	0.84	20.2	1.25	26.5	0.89	22.7	1.05	10.9	0.83	3.3		0.55
United States	5.7	*0.78*	12.5	*0.85*	22.8	*1.02*	27.0	*0.98*	20.4	*0.89*	8.9	*0.69*	2.7		*0.47*
Uruguay	32.4	1.56	25.6	0.96	22.4	1.03	13.2	0.69	5.3	0.51	1.1	0.23	‡		†
† Not applicable. ! Interpret data with caution. Estimate is unstable due to high coefficient of variation. ‡ 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 problem solving literacy levels according to their scores. Exact cut scores are as follows: below level 1 (a score less than or equal to 358.49); level 1 (a score greater than 358.49 and less than or equal to 423.42); level 2 (a score greater than 423.42 and less than or equal to 488.35); level 3 (a score greater than 488.35 and less than or equal to 553.28); level 4 (a score greater than 553.28 and less than or equal to 618.21); level 5 (a score greater than 618.21 and less than or equal to 683.14); and level 6 (a score greater than 683.14). Scores are reported on a scale from 0 to 1,000. The OECD average (PS) is the average of the national percentages of the 28 OECD member countries that participated in the problem solving (PS) assessment, with each country weighted equally. The following OECD countries did not participate in the problem solving assessment: Greece, Iceland, Luxembourg, Mexico, New Zealand, and Switzerland. Standard error is noted by s.e. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Italics indicate non-OECD countries and education systems. SOURCE: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), 2012.