This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Scotland stays in top league
10/12/2004
Scotland remains in the top league of education nations with pupils performing strongly in all subjects assessed, according to a comprehensive international study.
The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is run by the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and assesses the reading, maths and science performance of 15-year-olds in 41 countries.
Findings from the analysis of Scottish data show:
MATHS
- Scotland is significantly above the OECD average and ahead of both the UK and England
- Only three countries (Finland, Korea and the Netherlands) scored significantly higher than Scotland
- The number of Scottish pupils performing at higher levels (level four or above) is 10 percentage points higher (41.2 per cent) than the OECD average (31 per cent)
- In specific areas of maths, Scottish pupils scored particularly well - in 'uncertainty' only the Netherlands performed significantly better, while in 'change and relationship' only two countries did significantly better (Korea and the Netherlands)
- Scotland did particularly well in closing the gap between lower and higher attaining pupils, with only Finland matching the Scottish performance
READING LITERACY
- Scotland scored significantly above the OECD average
- Only three countries are significantly ahead of Scotland (Canada, Finland and Korea)
- 68 per cent of Scottish pupils were performing in the top three levels compared to the OECD average (55 per cent)
SCIENCE
- Scotland scored significantly above the OECD average.
- Only three countries performed significantly better than Scotland (Finland, Japan and Korea)
Education Minister Peter Peacock said:
"In Scotland, we are maintaining our enviable position in the top league of education nations. Our pupils scored well and out-performed many larger, world-leading countries.
"In aspects of maths, we are right up there among the best in the world and in reading most young Scots are in the top level, significantly above the OECD average.
"We have made very clear our desire to leave no-one behind in our drive for improvement and I am particularly pleased that this survey shows our efforts to close the gap are beginning to pay off.
"No country in the world has a narrower gap between bottom and top in maths and we top the rankings with Finland.
"However, we want to do even better and I want Scotland to learn all we can from other nations.
"That's why we are establishing a 'benchmarking club' which will allow Scotland to compare policies with similar performing countries and plan further improvement.
"Our extra recruitment of maths and English teachers and our revisions of our science curriculum are designed to lift our performance even more. This will help us to build our international reputation for educational excellence even more and grow future generations of ambitious, confident Scots capable of competing on the world stage."
The 2003 PISA survey focused particularly on maths. The survey is designed to assess pupils' ability to use their knowledge and skills to meet real-life challenges rather than assess whether they have mastered a specific school curriculum. Over 275,000 students took part from 41 countries.
The level of significance refers to the odds that the difference between the scores is due to there being an actual difference, and not to chance.
At the five per cent level (used throughout the report) there is a 1 in 20 chance that the difference is not a true difference (i.e. due to chance).
- Mathematics: OECD countries (in alphabetical order) whose mean scores differ significantly from the Scottish mean, or do not differ significantly from this.
Significantly higher mean score than Scotland
Finland, Korea, Netherlands
No significant difference between scores
Australia, Belgium Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Iceland, Japan,New Zealand, Northern Ireland, SCOTLAND, Switzerland
Significantly lower mean score that Scotland
Austria, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, mexico, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United States
- Reading: OECD countries whose mean scores differ significantly from the Scottish mean.
Significantly higher mean score than Scotland
Canada, Finland, Korea
No significant difference between scores
Australia, Belgium, England, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, SCOTLAND, Sweden
Significantly lower mean score than Scotland
Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Norway, Polansd Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United States
- Science: OECD countries (in alphabetical order) whose mean scores differ significantly from the Scottish mean
Significantly higher mean score than Scotland
Finland, Japan, Korea
No significant difference between scores
Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, SCOTLAND, Sweden, Switzerland
Significantly lower mean score than Scotland
Austria, Denmark, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, United States