International Comparison of Math, Reading, and Science Skills Among 15-Year-Olds

Updated August 5, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

More than 250,000 15-year old students from 41 countries participated in the assessment. The countries included all major industrialized nations (results for Britain were not available) and 11 other nations that chose to participate. The test scores are from 2003.

Mean Performance on Mathematics Scale

Range of ranks1
CountryUpper
rank2
Lower
rank3
Hong Kong (China)13
Finland14
South Korea15
Netherlands27
Liechtenstein29
Japan310
Canada59
Belgium510
Macao (China)612
Switzerland612
Australia912
New Zealand913
Czech Republic1217
Iceland1316
Denmark1317
France1418
Sweden1519
Austria1620
Germany1721
Ireland1721
Slovak Republic1924
Norway2124
Luxembourg2224
Poland2226
Hungary2227
Spain2528
Latvia2528
United States2528
Russian Federation2931
Portugal2931
Italy2931
Greece3233
Serbia3234
Turkey3336
Uruguay3436
Thailand3436
Mexico3737
Indonesia3840
Tunisia3840
Brazil3840
1. Because data are based on samples, it is not possible to report exact rank order positions for countries. However, it is possible to report the range of rank order positions within which the country mean lies with 95% likelihood.
2. Rank based on top two levels of proficiency (out of six) on mean scale of mathematical performance.
3. Rank based on lowest two levels of proficiency (out of six) on mean scale of mathematical performance.
Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD PISA (Program for Student Assessment) 2003 database.

Mean Performance on Reading Scale

Range of ranks1
CountryUpper
rank2
Lower
rank3
Finland11
South Korea23
Canada25
Australia36
Liechtenstein26
New Zealand47
Ireland610
Sweden710
Netherlands711
Hong Kong (China)712
Belgium912
Norway1118
Switzerland1220
Japan1222
Macao (China)1219
Poland1221
France1222
United States1223
Denmark1524
Iceland1724
Germany1524
Austria1425
Latvia1425
Czech Republic1725
Hungary2428
Spain2429
Luxembourg2529
Portugal2530
Italy2631
Greece2731
Slovak Republic2931
Russian Federation3234
Turkey3234
Uruguay3334
Thailand3536
Serbia3537
Brazil3638
Mexico3738
Indonesia3940
Tunisia3940
1. Because data are based on samples, it is not possible to report exact rank order positions for countries. However, it is possible to report the range of rank order positions within which the country mean lies with 95% likelihood.
2. Rank based on top two levels of proficiency (out of six) on mean scale of reading performance.
3. Rank based on lowest two levels of proficiency (out of six) on mean scale of reading performance.
Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD PISA (Program for Student Assessment) 2003 database.

Mean Performance on Science Scale

Range of ranks1
CountryUpper
rank2
Lower
rank3
Finland13
Japan13
Hong Kong (China)24
South Korea24
Liechtenstein511
Australia510
Macao (China)510
Netherlands511
Czech Republic511
New Zealand611
Canada812
Switzerland1015
France1216
Belgium1216
Sweden1318
Ireland1318
Hungary1419
Germany1421
Poland1722
Slovak Republic1825
Iceland1923
United States2027
Austria1928
Russian Federation2030
Latvia2029
Spain2229
Italy2230
Norway2430
Luxembourg2630
Greece2531
Denmark3032
Portugal3132
Uruguay3335
Serbia3336
Turkey3336
Thailand3436
Mexico3737
Indonesia3839
Brazil3840
Tunisia3940
1. Because data are based on samples, it is not possible to report exact rank order positions for countries. However, it is possible to report the range of rank order positions within which the country mean lies with 95% likelihood.
2. Rank based on top two levels of proficiency (out of six) on mean scale of science performance.
3. Rank based on lowest two levels of proficiency (out of six) on mean scale of science performance.
Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD PISA (Program for Student Assessment) 2003 database.

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Elementary and High School EducationAverage Math and Science Scores of Fourth-Grade and Eighth-Grade Students by Country
Elementary and High School Education
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