Peruvian students recorded improved results in the Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA) 2015, becoming the Latin country that made the most significant progress.
PISA is a triennial study by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that tests 15-year-olds’ performance in reading, mathematics and science worldwide.
Published by OECD in Paris today, results of the latest PISA edition revealed that Peru has moved from last place in the global educational rankings.
Out of the 72 participating countries, 9 were Latin American nations: Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Dominican Republic and Uruguay.
On the other hand, the Andean nation is also among the countries that have recorded the highest progress in the last three years, recording the fourth best progress in science, fifth in reading and sixth in mathematics.
Every three years between 2009 and 2015, Peruvian 15-year-old students posted average progress of 14 points in science, 14 in reading and 10 in mathematics. The most significant progress was recorded in the 2012-2015 period.
The Inca nation was also the only LatAm country to show a sustained improvement in reading, and recorded higher mathematics results than Brazil.
281 assessed schools
A total of 6,971 randomly sampled Peruvian students from 281 schools (71% State-run and 29% private) completed PISA 2015. Computer-based tests were used for the first time.
The Andean nation has participated in PISA 2000, 2009, 2012 and 2015, the latest of which was taken in August-September 2015. In addition to science, mathematics and reading, this year’s PISA also included an assessment of young people’s collaborative problem solving and financial literacy. Results of the latter will be published in 2017.
The test considers 6-7 performance levels, with level 2 as the baseline level of proficiency for proper performance in the contemporary world.
According to Peru’s Education Ministry, said positive evolution coincides with progress recorded in the Latin American Laboratory for Assessment of the Quality of Education (LLECE) and the Student Census Evaluation (ECE).
This kind of assessments are an opportunity to measure — in a global context — the capacities and skills of Peruvian students who are about to complete compulsory basic education and take on an active citizen role, Ministry’s spokespersons said.
(END) RRC/RRC/DHT/RMB
Published: 12/6/2016