Mathematics (primary focus)

• Shanghai-China had the highest scores in mathematics, with a mean score of 613 points – 119 points above the OECD average – the equivalent of nearly 3 years of schooling.
• Boys performed better than girls in mathematics in only 38 of the 65 countries and economies that participated in PISA 2012, and girls outperformed boys in 5 countries.
• Out of all the countries and economies with trend data between 2003 and 2012, 25 improved in mathematics performance, 25 showed no change, and 14 deteriorated.
• Between 2003 and 2012, Italy, Poland, and Portugal increased the share of top performers and simultaneously reduced the share of low performers in mathematics.

Reading

• Shanghai-China, Hong Kong-China, Singapore, Japan, and Korea were the five highest-performing countries and economies in reading.
  • Of the 64 countries and economies with comparable data in reading performance throughout their participation in PISA, 32 improved their reading performance, 22 showed no change, and 10 deteriorated in reading performance.
  • Across OECD countries, 8.4% of students were top performers in reading, meaning that they were proficient at Level 5 or 6. Shanghai-China had the largest proportion of top performers – 25.1% – among all participating countries and economies.
• Between the 2000 and 2012 PISA assessments, Albania, Israel and Poland increased the share of top performers and simultaneously reduced the share of low performers in reading. 

Science

• Shanghai-China, Hong Kong-China, Singapore, Japan, and Finland were the top five performers in science in PISA 2012.
• Across OECD countries, 8.4% of students were top performers in science and scored at a proficiency Level of 5 or 6.
• Between 2006 and 2012, Italy, Poland, and Qatar, and between 2009 and 2012, Estonia, Israel, and Singapore, increased the share of top performers and simultaneously reduced the share of low performers in science.
• Boys and girls performed similarly in science; on average, this remained true in 2012.