PISA 2022 Reading Literacy Results
Explore How U.S. Reading Performance Compared Internationally in 2022
Reading literacy was a minor domain As a minor domain, a smaller proportion of the assessment is devoted to the subject area and utilizes only items that have been developed for previous cycles of PISA (trend items only). Analysis of the minor domain subject is more limited than when it is a major domain. in PISA 2022. For 2022, the PISA reading literacy assessment component included only trend items used in prior cycles of PISA, including the 2000, 2009, and 2018 cycles, when reading literacy was the major domain As the major domain, a greater proportion of the assessment is devoted to the subject area, including newly developed items, allowing for more detailed analyses of student performance in the subject. In addition, most items in the background questionnaires for students and schools focus on some aspect of the major domain subject, such as how it is taught, school resources related to the teaching of the subject, or students' levels of engagement with the subject.. Read more about the latest version of the reading literacy framework for PISA.
Reading involves not only the printed page but also digital formats. Increasingly, it requires readers to distinguish between fact and opinion, synthesize and interpret texts from multiple sources, and deal with conflicting information across source materials.
In PISA 2022 reading literacy is defined as students' capacity to understand, use, evaluate, reflect on, and engage with texts in order to achieve one's goals; develop one's knowledge and potential; and participate in society.
To take better advantage of the administration of PISA on computer and to improve the measurement of the subject, the PISA 2022 assessment of reading literacy included multi-stage adaptive testing that was introduced in PISA 2018. Instead of using fixed, predetermined test booklets, the PISA 2022 reading assessment was dynamically determined, based on how a student performed in prior stages. Read more about the multi-stage adaptive testing design used in PISA.
- International Comparisons
of Student Achievement - Trends in Student
Achievement - Achievement by
Student Groups
How does the performance of U.S. 15-year-olds in reading compare internationally?
Compared to the 80 other education systems in PISA 2022, the U.S. average reading literacy score was higher than the average in 68 education systems, lower than the average in 5 education systems, and not significantly different from the average in 7 education systems.
- The U.S. average score (504) was higher than the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average score (476).
- Compared to the 36 other participating OECD members, the U.S. average in reading literacy was higher than the average in 28 education systems, lower than in 3, and not significantly different from 5.
- On a scale of 0 to 1,000, average scores in reading literacy across the education systems ranged from 329 in Cambodia to 543 in Singapore.
Click on the column headers below to sort data by education system, average score, or difference from the U.S. average score. The default display shows education systems ordered by the 2022 average score from largest to smallest. When a user selects customized ordering, footnotes and special symbol notes will be retained as they were in the default view.
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Average score is higher than U.S. average score at the .05 level of statistical significance.
Average score is lower than U.S. average score at the .05 level of statistical significance.
Average score is not significantly different from U.S. average score at the .05 level of statistical significance.
! Interpret data with caution. Estimate is unstable because the standard error is between 30 and 50 percent of the estimate.
At least 50 percent but less than 75 percent of the 15-year-old population is covered by the PISA sample.
Less than 50 percent of the 15-year-old population is covered by the PISA sample.
NOTE: Scores are reported on a scale from 0 to 1,000. Differences were computed using unrounded numbers. The default graphic or table view shows education systems ordered by their average scores in 2022. The ordering of notes and special symbols in the NOTE section follows the order shown in the default graphic/table view. Education systems are marked as OECD countries if they were OECD members in 2022. All OECD members except for Luxembourg participated in the PISA 2022 cycle. The OECD average is the average of the national averages of the participating OECD member countries, with each country weighted equally. Italics indicate non-OECD countries and education systems. Some apparent differences between estimates may not be statistically significant.
SOURCE: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), 2022.
See details for this data and perform your own analyses in the PISA Data Explorer.
For More Information
- See Technical Notes (including Coverage of Target Population Table A-4)
- Visit the OECD website
- Read the International PISA 2022 Report and Assessment Framework
What is the percentage of 15-year-olds reaching the selected PISA proficiency levels in reading?
In addition to scale scores, PISA describes student performance in each subject area in terms of levels of proficiency, from the lowest level (Level 1c) to the highest (Level 6). Read more about the skills and knowledge of students at each reading literacy proficiency level. To reach a particular proficiency level, a student must correctly answer a majority of items at that level. Students were classified into reading proficiency levels according to their scores. Exact cut scoresThe minimum score required for performance at each PISA proficiency level. A cut score is a specified point on a score scale, such that scores at or above that point are interpreted or acted upon differently from scores below that point. PISA cut scores are determined through a standard-setting process that convenes subject-area expert groups and the PISA test developers. are as follows: Below Level 2 is a score less than 407.47; Levels 5 and above is a score equal to or greater than 625.61. See Technical Notes for details.
In the United States, 14 percent of 15-year-old students in 2022 were top performers in reading literacy, scoring at proficiency levels 5 and above; 20 percent were low performers in reading literacy, scoring below proficiency level 2.
- The United States had a larger percentage of top performers in reading literacy than the OECD average (14 vs. 7 percent, respectively). Compared to 71 other reportable education systems, the U.S. percentage was larger than in 64 education systems, smaller than in 1 education system, and not significantly different from 6 education systems. The percentages of top-performing 15-year-old students in reading literacy ranged from 23 percent in Singapore to nearly 0 percent in 11 education systems. Estimates are not reportable for 9 education systems because reporting standards were not met.
- The United States had a smaller percentage of low performers in reading literacy than the OECD average (20 vs. 26 percent, respectively). The U.S. percentage was smaller than in 59 education systems, larger than in 7 education systems, and not significantly different from 14 education systems. The percentages of low-performing 15-year-old students in reading literacy ranged from 11 percent in Ireland and Singapore to 92 percent in Cambodia.
Click on the column headers below to sort data by education system or different proficiency levels. The default display shows education systems ordered by the percentages of 15-year-olds in levels 5 and above. When a user selects customized ordering, footnotes and special symbol notes will be retained as they were in the default view.
Display as: |
# Rounds to zero.
! Interpret data with caution. Estimate is unstable because the standard error is between 30 and 50 percent of the estimate.
!! Interpret data with caution. Estimate is unstable because the standard error represents more than 50 percent of the estimate.
‡ Reporting standards not met.
* Significantly different (p < .05) from the U.S. percentage at the .05 level of statistical significance.
At least 50 percent but less than 75 percent of the 15-year-old population is covered by the PISA sample.
Less than 50 percent of the 15-year-old population is covered by the PISA sample.
NOTE: The default graphic or table view shows education systems ordered by the percentages of 15-year-olds in levels 5 and above in 2022. The ordering of notes and special symbols in the NOTE section follows the order shown in the default graphic/table view. Education systems are marked as OECD countries if they were OECD members in 2022. All OECD members except for Luxembourg participated in the PISA 2022 cycle. The OECD average is the average of the national averages of the participating OECD member countries, with each country weighted equally. Italics indicate non-OECD countries and education systems. Some apparent differences between estimates may not be statistically significant. Students were classified into reading proficiency levels according to their scores. Exact cut scores are as follows: Below Level 2 is a score less than 407.47; Levels 5 and above is a score equal to or greater than 625.61.
SOURCE: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), 2022.
See details for this data and perform your own analyses in the PISA Data Explorer.
Filter by:
| Education system | Below level 2 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 | Levels 5 and above |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| commodi distinctio | 422 | 21 | 332 | 17 | 22 |
# Rounds to zero.
! Interpret data with caution. Estimate is unstable because the standard error is between 30 and 50 percent of the estimate.
!! Interpret data with caution. Estimate is unstable because the standard error represents more than 50 percent of the estimate.
‡ Reporting standards not met.
* Significantly different (p < .05) from the U.S. percentage at the .05 level of statistical significance.
At least 50 percent but less than 75 percent of the 15-year-old population is covered by the PISA sample.
Less than 50 percent of the 15-year-old population is covered by the PISA sample.
NOTE: The default graphic or table view shows education systems ordered by the percentages of 15-year-olds in levels 5 and above in 2022. The ordering of notes and special symbols in the NOTE section follows the order shown in the default graphic/table view. Education systems are marked as OECD countries if they were OECD members in 2022. All OECD members except for Luxembourg participated in the PISA 2022 cycle. The OECD average is the average of the national averages of the participating OECD member countries, with each country weighted equally. Italics indicate non-OECD countries and education systems. Some apparent differences between estimates may not be statistically significant. Students were classified into reading proficiency levels according to their scores. Exact cut scores are as follows: Below Level 2 is a score less than 407.47; Levels 5 and above is a score equal to or greater than 625.61.
SOURCE: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), 2022.
See details for this data and perform your own analyses in the PISA Data Explorer.
For More Information
- See Technical Notes (including Coverage of Target Population Table A-4)
- Visit the OECD website
- Read the International PISA 2022 Report and Assessment Framework
How large is the gap in reading performance between top and bottom performers?
Score gaps between top and bottom performers provide one indication of equity within an education system. The distribution of U.S. student scores in reading literacy showed a score gap of 292 points between the 90th and 10th percentiles.
- The U.S. score gap between the 90th and 10th percentiles (292 points) was larger than the score gap across the participating OECD countries on average (262 points).
- The U.S. score gap was smaller than the gap in 2 education systems, larger than the gap in 61, and not significantly different from the gap in 17 education systems.
- Internationally, score gaps between the 90th and 10th percentiles ranged from 144 points in Cambodia to 328 points in the United Arab Emirates.
In PISA, the percentile is defined by the percentage of students scoring lower than a particular score. The figure below shows the scores for students at the 10th percentile (the score that 10 percent of students scored below) and at the 90th percentile (the score that 90 percent of students scored below). The score gap for each education system is the difference between its 90th and 10th percentile scores. The percentile ranges are specific to each education system's distribution of scores and scores can be compared across education systems.
Click on the column headers below to sort data by education system or by the 90th–10th percentile score gap. The default display shows education systems ordered by the 2022 90th–10th percentile score gap from largest to smallest. When a user selects customized ordering, footnotes and special symbol notes will be retained as they were in the default view.
Display as: |
score gap
score gap
* Score gap is significantly different (p < .05) from the U.S. 90th to 10th percentile score gap at the .05 level of statistical significance.
At least 50 percent but less than 75 percent of the 15-year-old population is covered by the PISA sample.
Less than 50 percent of the 15-year-old population is covered by the PISA sample.
NOTE: Scores are reported on a scale from 0 to 1,000. Differences were computed using unrounded numbers. The default graphic or table view shows education systems ordered by the 90th–10th percentile score gap in 2022. The ordering of notes and special symbols in the NOTE section follows the order shown in the default graphic/table view. Education systems are marked as OECD countries if they were OECD members in 2022. All OECD members except for Luxembourg participated in the PISA 2022 cycle. The OECD average is the average of the national averages of the participating OECD member countries, with each country weighted equally. Italics indicate non-OECD countries and education systems. Some apparent differences between estimates may not be statistically significant. Selected percentiles are defined as: 10th percentile—the score that 10 percent of students scored below; 90th percentile—the score that 90 percent of students scored below.
SOURCE: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), 2022.
See details for this data and perform your own analyses in the PISA Data Explorer.
| Education system | 10th percentile score | Average score | 90th percentile score | 90th–10th score gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lorem ipsum | 370 | 0.6 | 489 | 0.4 |
* Score gap is significantly different (p < .05) from the U.S. 90th to 10th percentile score gap at the .05 level of statistical significance.
At least 50 percent but less than 75 percent of the 15-year-old population is covered by the PISA sample.
Less than 50 percent of the 15-year-old population is covered by the PISA sample.
NOTE: Scores are reported on a scale from 0 to 1,000. Differences were computed using unrounded numbers. The default graphic or table view shows education systems ordered by the 90th–10th percentile score gap in 2022. The ordering of notes and special symbols in the NOTE section follows the order shown in the default graphic/table view. Education systems are marked as OECD countries if they were OECD members in 2022. All OECD members except for Luxembourg participated in the PISA 2022 cycle. The OECD average is the average of the national averages of the participating OECD member countries, with each country weighted equally. Italics indicate non-OECD countries and education systems. Some apparent differences between estimates may not be statistically significant. Selected percentiles are defined as: 10th percentile—the score that 10 percent of students scored below; 90th percentile—the score that 90 percent of students scored below.
SOURCE: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), 2022.
See details for this data and perform your own analyses in the PISA Data Explorer.
For More Information
- See Technical Notes (including Coverage of Target Population Table A-4)
- Visit the OECD website
- Read the International PISA 2022 Report and Assessment Framework
Suggested Citation: Highlights of U.S. PISA 2022 Results Web Report (NCES 2023-115 and 2024-113). U.S. Department of Education. Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics. Available at https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pisa/pisa2022/.
