PISA Scores At New Low

In the natural sciences, Germany is no longer above the OECD average for the first time since 2006. In mathematics and reading, the results are also at the OECD average level, as was the case in the 2022 PISA study. While a downward trend has been evident also in other OECD countries across past PISA studies, the decline in Germany is particularly pronounced.

Students in the Chinese regions of Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang achieved the best results in science and mathematics (597 and 612 points, respectively). In reading, 15-year-olds in Singapore demonstrated the highest skills (535 points). But students in several OECD countries with economic and social conditions comparable to Germany's also perform significantly better than their peers in Germany. This is particularly true for Estonia, Canada, Switzerland and Austria.

In addition, this PISA study examined how well 15-year-olds can use digital tools to structure and solve complex problems. In this area of so-called model-based problem-solving, the skills of German students are also at the OECD average level.

The study categorizes the test results into six proficiency levels. Adolescents who do not reach proficiency level II lack the basic skills they need to confidently meet the demands of education, work and everyday life.

About one-third of 15-year-olds lack such skills in reading and mathematics. In the sciences, this applies to about one-quarter. About one-fifth of young people lack sufficient basic competencies in any of the three areas. The proportion of these students has steadily increased over the past decade. In reading and mathematics, it has doubled since 2015.

At the other end of the spectrum (proficiency levels V and VI), the proportion of students with particularly high proficiency in the natural sciences has decreased slightly since 2015, from 11 to 9 percent. In mathematics and reading, it has declined more sharply, from 13 to 8 percent and from 12 to 7 percent, respectively. Only 3 percent of young people now achieve the highest proficiency levels in all three areas.

"The decline in proficiency is not limited to specific subject areas or individual groups of students, but can be observed across the entire performance spectrum," Greiff emphasizes.

In Germany, the skills of young people depend particularly strongly on their families' socioeconomic status. This emerges as by far the most important factor when considered alongside the young people's gender and immigrant background.

In Germany, the correlation between science skills and socioeconomic status has continued to grow and has now reached its highest level since the PISA studies began. Only 2 percent of students from socioeconomically disadvantaged families achieve high proficiency levels. Among students from socioeconomically privileged families, the figure is around 25 percent.

This correlation is more pronounced in Germany than in almost any other country. It is about three times as strong in Germany as in Canada and twice as strong as in Denmark or Norway.

"Opportunities for educational success are extremely unevenly distributed in Germany," says Greiff. "As a society, we cannot afford to let so much talent go to waste. Other countries are much more successful at decoupling educational success from family background."

Based on the results of the PISA study and in conjunction with other educational monitorig studies, the PISA team recommends the following measures:

• Identify the need for support early and provide targeted support for young children. "Most learning problems don't start in school. Crucial foundations are laid as early as in preschool time. Above all, proficiency in the language of instruction is the key to all other subjects," says Greiff. "Successful education systems therefore rely on early assessment and mandatory support."
• Monitor students' learning progress using data. "Who needs what kind of support in their learning? This isn't always immediately apparent in the day-to-day school environment," says Greiff. "Countries like Canada demonstrate that regular, brief tests are an excellent way to monitor learning progress. Teachers can observe learning progress virtually in real time and respond with targeted pedagogical interventions."
• Strengthening schools according to their support needs. "If schools face very different challenges, they shouldn't all be provided with the same resources. Schools with many socioeconomically disadvantaged children need more support. That's where additional resources can have the greatest impact," says Greiff.

"As a society, we should not accept that young people leave school without the skills they need for their future," says Greiff. "The results are cause for concern, but they are not inevitable. Education systems can change. Many other countries have demonstrated this - and Germany itself proved it impressively following the PISA shock 25 years ago."

In the ninth PISA study (Program for International Student Assessment), the skills of approximately 6,700 15-year-old students, a representative sample, at about 250 schools of all types were assessed in Germany. In addition, the students were surveyed about their learning conditions, attitudes and family situations. School administrators, teachers and parents answered questions about instruction, the school environment and the importance of learning within the family setting. Worldwide, approximately 760,000 students in 91 countries and regions participated in the study.