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Back to PISA 2012 Results

Reading Literacy: Average Scores

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Table R2. Average scores of 15-year-old students on PISA reading literacy scale, by education system: 2012
Education system Average score s.e.   Education system Average score s.e.
OECD average 496   0.5          
Shanghai-China 570 Average score is higher than U.S. average score 2.9   Iceland 483 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 1.8
Hong Kong-China 545 Average score is higher than U.S. average score 2.8   Slovenia 481 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 1.2
Singapore 542 Average score is higher than U.S. average score 1.4   Lithuania 477 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 2.5
Japan 538 Average score is higher than U.S. average score 3.7   Greece 477 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 3.3
Korea, Republic of 536 Average score is higher than U.S. average score 3.9   Turkey 475 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 4.2
Finland 524 Average score is higher than U.S. average score 2.4   Russian Federation 475 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 3.0
Ireland 523 Average score is higher than U.S. average score 2.6   Slovak Republic 463 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 4.2
Canada 523 Average score is higher than U.S. average score 1.9   Cyprus 449 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 1.2
Chinese Taipei 523 Average score is higher than U.S. average score 3.0   Serbia, Republic of 446 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 3.4
Poland 518 Average score is higher than U.S. average score 3.1   United Arab Emirates 442 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 2.5
Estonia 516 Average score is higher than U.S. average score 2.0   Chile 441 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 2.9
Liechtenstein 516 Average score is higher than U.S. average score 4.1   Thailand 441 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 3.1
New Zealand 512 Average score is higher than U.S. average score 2.4   Costa Rica 441 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 3.5
Australia 512 Average score is higher than U.S. average score 1.6   Romania 438 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 4.0
Netherlands 511 Average score is higher than U.S. average score 3.5   Bulgaria 436 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 6.0
Switzerland 509 Average score is higher than U.S. average score 2.6   Mexico 424 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 1.5
Macao-China 509 Average score is higher than U.S. average score 0.9   Montenegro, Republic of 422 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 1.2
Belgium 509 Average score is higher than U.S. average score 2.3   Uruguay 411 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 3.2
Vietnam 508   4.4   Brazil 410 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 2.1
Germany 508 Average score is higher than U.S. average score 2.8   Tunisia 404 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 4.5
France 505   2.8   Colombia 403 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 3.4
Norway 504   3.2   Jordan 399 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 3.6
United Kingdom 499   3.5   Malaysia 398 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 3.3
United States 498   3.7   Indonesia 396 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 4.2
Denmark 496   2.6   Argentina 396 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 3.7
Czech Republic 493   2.9   Albania 394 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 3.2
Italy 490   2.0   Kazakhstan 393 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 2.7
Austria 490   2.8   Qatar 388 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 0.8
Latvia 489 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 2.4   Peru 384 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 4.3
Hungary 488   3.2          
Spain 488 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 1.9          
Luxembourg 488 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 1.5   U.S. state education
systems		      
Portugal 488   3.8      
Israel 486   5.0   Massachusetts 527 Average score is higher than U.S. average score 6.1
Croatia 485 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 3.3   Connecticut 521 Average score is higher than U.S. average score 6.5
Sweden 483 Average score is lower than U.S. average score 3.0   Florida 492   6.1
Average score is higher than U.S. average score Average score is higher than U.S. average score.
Average score is lower than U.S. average score Average score is lower than U.S. average score.
NOTE: Education systems are ordered by 2012 average score. The OECD average is the average of the national averages of the OECD member countries, with each country weighted equally. Scores are reported on a scale from 0 to 1,000. All average scores reported as higher or lower than the U.S. average score are different at the05 level of statistical significance. 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 table 3 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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