Computer and information literacy (CIL)

Variations in students’ CIL

• Students’ CIL varied considerably both within and across countries.
• Across countries, the range of average student CIL achievement scores was more than 220 scale score points, from 319 (Azerbaijan) to 540 scale score points (Rep. of Korea. 
• Within most countries, the difference between the lowest performing students (bottom 10%) and the highest performing students (top 10%) was also more than 200 CIL scale score points.

Students’ proficiency in CIL

• Many students demonstrated only basic CIL competence (below CIL Level 2). Students below CIL Level 2 generally require explicit step‐by‐step instructions to perform simple CIL actions associated with information location and communication in the digital environment.
  • On average across countries, nearly half of students’ CIL achievement was below Level 2. 
  • In some countries, more than three quarters of students’ CIL achievement was below CIL Level 2.
  • In the highest performing countries between a quarter to a third of students’ CIL achievement was below Level 2.
• Trends in CIL proficiency
  • Students’ CIL achievement was typically lower in 2023 than in 2018 and 2013, in countries with comparable data across the cycles. 
  • There were some individual exceptions to this general pattern.

Computational thinking (CT)

Variations in students’ CT

• Students’ CT varied both within and across countries. In comparison to CIL, students’ CT varied considerably more within countries than across countries.
• Across countries, the range of average student achievement scores on the CT scale was 127 scale points, extending from 421 scale score points (Uruguay) to 548 scale score points (Chinese Taipei).
• In most countries, the difference between the lowest performing students (bottom 10%) and the highest performing students (top 10%) was more than 270 scale score points.

Students’ proficiency in CT

• On average across countries, the distribution of student CT achievement scores was centered around Level 2 on the CT achievement scale. 
  • 37% of students achieved scores that placed them within Level 2, with 34% of student scores below Level 2 and 29% of student scores above Level 2.
  • In 19 countries, the highest percentage of students had CT achievement scores at Level 2. No country had the highest percentage of students scoring below Level 1 or above Level 3.
• Trends in CT proficiency
  • Students’ average CT did not change significantly between 2018 and 2023 in five of seven countries.
  • However, it increased significantly in one country and decreased significantly in two countries between 2018 and 2023.

Personal and social backgrounds related to students’ CIL and CT

• Students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds (SES) consistently outperformed lower SES peers in both CIL and CT.
• Students who spoke the test language at home performed better than those who did not.
• Students with an immigrant background had lower average achievement than their non-immigrant peers.
• The availability of computers at home was a positive predictor of CIL and CT in most countries but the relationship weakened after controlling for personal and social background likely indicating the close link between SES and device availability.

Gender differences 

• CIL
  • Female students outperformed male students in every participating education system in CIL.
  • This is consistent with findings from previous ICILS cycles (2013, 2018) and suggests that female students, on average, have stronger competencies in evaluating and using digital information effectively.
• CT
  • In contrast, male students slightly outperformed female students in CT.
  • The gender gap in CT was smaller than in CIL, and differences varied across education systems.

Association between CIL and CT

• Moderate to strong correlation
  • ICILS 2023 found a moderate-to-strong positive correlation between CIL and CT achievement.
  • Students who performed well in CIL also tended to score higher in CT, suggesting overlapping cognitive skills.
• Variation across education systems
  • While the association between CIL and CT was positive across countries, the strength of this relationship varied.
  • In some systems, explicit CT instruction led to stronger CT performance, even among students with lower CIL skills.
• Influence of digital exposure and curriculum
  • Students with more exposure to ICT in learning environments tended to show stronger competencies in both CIL and CT.
  • Countries with integrated curricula for digital literacy and computational thinking exhibited a stronger association.

Engagement with Information and Communications Technology (ICT) 

Student’s use of ICT

• Outside and inside school
  • 47% of students reported using ICT daily outside school for school-related activities.
  • Only 33% of students reported using ICT daily in school for learning purposes.
  • Students reported learning more about internet-related topics outside school than in structured classroom settings.
• Variations by SES
  • Students from higher SES backgrounds reported more frequent ICT use for educational purposes than their lower SES peers.
  • Lower SES students were more likely to use ICT for entertainment rather than learning, highlighting a digital divide in educational technology use.
• Gender differences in ICT engagement
  • Female students engaged more with communication and information-related digital tasks, while male students showed slightly higher engagement with programming and technical aspects of ICT.