High and Low Performers

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Figure S1a. Percentage of 15-year-old students performing at PISA science literacy proficiency levels 5 and above and below level 2, by education system: 2012

# Rounds to zero.
! Interpret data with caution. Estimate is unstable due to high coefficient of variation.
� Reporting standards not met.
* p<.05. Significantly different from the U.S. percentage at the .05 level of statistical significance.
NOTE: Education systems are ordered by 2012 percentages of 15-year-olds in levels 5 and above. To reach a particular proficiency level, a student must correctly answer a majority of items at that level. Students were classified into science proficiency levels according to their scores. Exact cut scores are as follows: below level 1 (a score less than or equal to 334.94); level 1 (a score greater than 334.94 and less than or equal to 409.54); level 2 (a score greater than 409.54 and less than or equal to 484.14); level 3 (a score greater than 484.14 and less than or equal to 558.73); level 4 (a score greater than 558.73 and less than or equal to 633.33); level 5 (a score greater than 633.33 and less than or equal to 707.93); and level 6 (a score greater than 707.93). Scores are reported on a scale from 0 to 1,000. The OECD average is the average of the national percentages of the OECD member countries, with each country weighted equally. Italics indicate non-OECD countries and education systems. Results for Connecticut, Florida, and Massachusetts are for public school students only. This figure corresponds to figure 2 in Performance of U.S. 15-Year-Old Students in Mathematics, Science, and Reading Literacy in an International Context (NCES 2014-024).
SOURCE: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), 2012.

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Table S1b. Percentage of 15-year-old students performing at PISA science literacy proficiency levels 5 and above and below level 2, by education system: 2012
Education system	Below level 2				Levels 5 and above				Education system	Below level 2				Levels 5 and above
	Percent		s.e.		Percent		s.e.			Percent		s.e.		Percent		s.e.
OECD average	17.8		0.18		8.4		0.12
Shanghai-China	2.7	*	0.41		27.2	*	1.32		Spain	15.7		0.71		4.8	*	0.29
Singapore	9.6	*	0.51		22.7	*	0.81		Croatia	17.3		0.93		4.6	*	0.79
Japan	8.5	*	0.88		18.2	*	1.21		Portugal	19.0		1.44		4.5	*	0.55
Finland	7.7	*	0.58		17.1	*	0.66		Latvia	12.4	*	0.96		4.4	*	0.51
Hong Kong-China	5.6	*	0.62		16.7	*	1.05		Russian Federation	18.8		1.15		4.3	*	0.59
Australia	13.6	*	0.48		13.6	*	0.55		Bulgaria	36.9	*	2.02		3.1	*	0.58
New Zealand	16.3		0.86		13.4	*	0.69		United Arab Emirates	35.2	*	1.30		2.5	*	0.27
Estonia	5.0	*	0.45		12.8	*	0.73		Greece	25.5	*	1.47		2.5	*	0.40
Germany	12.2	*	0.90		12.2	*	0.95		Cyprus	38.0	*	0.67		2.0	*	0.29
Netherlands	13.1	*	1.12		11.8	*	1.06		Turkey	26.4	*	1.50		1.8	*	0.36
Korea, Republic of	6.6	*	0.77		11.7	*	1.13		Serbia, Republic of	35.0	*	1.81		1.7	*	0.36
Canada	10.4	*	0.47		11.3	*	0.55		Qatar	62.6	*	0.53		1.5	*	0.12
United Kingdom	15.0		1.07		11.2	*	0.79		Uruguay	46.9	*	1.25		1.0	*	0.25
Poland	9.0	*	0.75		10.8	*	1.01		Chile	34.5	*	1.58		1.0	*	0.15
Ireland	11.1	*	0.88		10.7	*	0.58		Thailand	33.6	*	1.56		0.9	*	0.27
Liechtenstein	10.4	*	1.96		10.1		1.80		Romania	37.3	*	1.64		0.9	!*	0.29
Slovenia	12.9	*	0.56		9.6	*	0.72		Albania	53.1	*	1.20		0.4	!*	0.13
Switzerland	12.8	*	0.72		9.3		0.77		Montenegro, Republic of	50.7	*	0.72		0.4	!*	0.14
Belgium	17.7		0.86		9.1		0.43		Malaysia	45.5	*	1.55		0.3	!*	0.12
Chinese Taipei	9.8	*	0.77		8.3		0.61		Brazil	53.7	*	1.14		0.3	!*	0.10
Luxembourg	22.2	*	0.63		8.2		0.54		Jordan	49.6	*	1.55		‡		†
Vietnam	6.7	*	1.09		8.1		1.09		Argentina	50.9	*	2.21		0.2	!*	0.10
France	18.7		1.01		7.9		0.77		Costa Rica	39.3	*	1.75		0.2	!*	0.10
Austria	15.8		1.00		7.9		0.70		Kazakhstan	41.9	*	1.83		0.2	!*	0.09
Czech Republic	13.8	*	1.13		7.6		0.58		Mexico	47.0	*	0.81		0.1	!*	0.04
Norway	19.6		1.10		7.5		0.57		Colombia	56.2	*	1.61		‡		†
United States	18.1		1.33		7.5		0.74		Tunisia	55.3	*	1.87		‡		†
Denmark	16.7		0.97		6.8		0.70		Indonesia	66.6	*	2.20		‡		†
Macao-China	8.8	*	0.46		6.7		0.36		Peru	68.5	*	1.95		‡		†
Sweden	22.2	*	1.11		6.3		0.50
Italy	18.7		0.68		6.1		0.41
Hungary	18.0		1.14		5.9		0.75		U.S. state education systems
Israel	28.9	*	1.67		5.8		0.65
Iceland	24.0	*	0.78		5.2	*	0.61		Massachusetts	11.5	*	1.18		14.2	*	1.94
Lithuania	16.1		1.08		5.1	*	0.49		Connecticut	13.5	*	1.70		12.9	*	1.34
Slovak Republic	26.9	*	1.58		4.9	*	0.72		Florida	21.3		2.15		5.5		1.05
† Not applicable. ! Interpret data with caution. Estimate is unstable due to high coefficient of variation. ‡ Reporting standards not met. * p<.05. Significantly different from the U.S. percentage at the .05 level of statistical significance. NOTE: Education systems are ordered by 2012 percentages of 15-year-olds in levels 5 and above. To reach a particular proficiency level, a student must correctly answer a majority of items at that level. Students were classified into science proficiency levels according to their scores. Exact cut scores are as follows: below level 1 (a score less than or equal to 334.94); level 1 (a score greater than 334.94 and less than or equal to 409.54); level 2 (a score greater than 409.54 and less than or equal to 484.14); level 3 (a score greater than 484.14 and less than or equal to 558.73); level 4 (a score greater than 558.73 and less than or equal to 633.33); level 5 (a score greater than 633.33 and less than or equal to 707.93); and level 6 (a score greater than 707.93). Scores are reported on a scale from 0 to 1,000. The OECD average is the average of the national percentages of the OECD member countries, with each country weighted equally. Standard error is noted by s.e. Italics indicate non-OECD countries and education systems. Results for Connecticut, Florida, and Massachusetts are for public school students only. This table corresponds to figure 2 in Performance of U.S. 15-Year-Old Students in Mathematics, Science, and Reading Literacy in an International Context (NCES 2014-024). SOURCE: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), 2012.