Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)

PISA is the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment. PISA measures 15-year-olds’ ability to use their reading, mathematics and science knowledge and skills to meet real-life challenges.

Directorate for Education and Skills

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About PISA

Created by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), PISA tests the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students in mathematics, reading and science. Eighty-one countries and economies took part in the 2022 assessment, which focused on mathematics, and the data were released by the OECD on 5 December 2023.

Additional results on students’ financial literacy, creative thinking and readiness for life-long learning were released in 2024.

The ninth cycle of the assessment, PISA 2025, is currently underway. The results will be published in 2026.

The tenth cycle of the assessment, PISA 2029, will be initiated soon.

PISA Conference
29-30 November 2024

Numerous insightful presentations on the theme "Using PISA evidence to inform education policies and practices" were shared at the two-day PISA Conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia on 29-30 November 2024.

On the event page you can watch the Session Replays (recordings) and explore the Key Resources (including the presentations themselves).

Visit here

Publications

Reports

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Report

Education in the Eastern Partnership: Findings from PISA

17 December 2024
Report

PISA 2022 Results (Volume I)

5 December 2023
Report

PISA 2022 Results (Volume II)

5 December 2023
Report

PISA 2022 Results (Volume III)

18 June 2024
Report

PISA 2022 Results (Volume IV)

27 June 2024
Report

PISA 2022 Results (Volume V)

13 November 2024
Report

PISA 2022 Technical Report

1 March 2024

Working papers and policy briefs

See all working papers and policy briefs

Teacher support for student learning

This policy paper examines teacher support for students in mathematics lessons, drawing on data from PISA 2022 and previous cycles. It highlights key trends and explores how school contexts, teacher practices, and student characteristics influence the level of support students receive. Over the past decade (2012–2022), teacher support has declined in most participating education systems. This paper addresses the critical question of how education systems can reverse this trend and strengthen teacher support. Understanding the conditions and practices that enable teachers to effectively meet students’ diverse learning needs is essential. Through this analysis, the paper provides insights and policy recommendations to help foster supportive learning environments, guide education reform, and mitigate the decline in teacher support observed since 2012.

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Transitions through education and into the labour market

Transitions through education are crucial for students’ development and success. Progressing to higher levels of education can lead to improved outcomes in and through education. The paper uses four cross-national surveys to review the progression of approximately one birth cohort through education into the labour market, focusing on gaps by gender, country of birth and parental education. Results reveal disparities at every educational level, but these gaps are not necessarily persistent, as some countries manage to maintain relatively narrow equity gaps. While it is not possible to directly link specific policies to these outcomes, the paper maps policy interventions in areas such as education governance, educational interventions and monitoring of outcomes offering insights into strategies easing transitions through education for diverse groups. Policy makers could consider enhancing monitoring efforts, preventing drop out, strengthening connections in pathways, aligning pathways with labour market needs, and supporting future international research with longitudinal surveys.

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OECD Education Equity Dashboard Brief for the Netherlands

The Netherlands has requested the OECD Secretariat to prepare an analysis spotlighting the country's performance on equity-related indicators within the OECD Education Equity Dashboard. The education system in the Netherlands presents a mix of strengths and challenges across educational levels. Schools are well-equipped for digital learning, but teacher shortages persist despite high salaries. Early childhood education and care participation is high, but equity gaps remain. In primary education, the Netherlands underperforms internationally in reading and science, though socio-economic gaps are relatively small. Secondary-education students perform above the OECD average, but socio-economic and immigrant disparities persist. While upper secondary enrolment is high, STEM graduation rates, especially among women, remain low. Non-academic outcomes are strong, with most students feeling a sense of belonging, though immigrant students report less family and teacher support. Tertiary education enrolment is some of the highest among OECD countries, but STEM completion rates are low. The Netherlands also demonstrates strong performance and equity in economic outcomes through education.

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The triangle of lifelong learning

How prepared are students for life-long learning? Students learn many things at school, but one of the most crucial is learning how to learn. For students to continue learning independently beyond the classroom, three key aspects are essential: understanding effective learning strategies, staying motivated to learn, and having confidence in their own abilities and capacity to grow. These elements form what we call the triangle of lifelong learning. This PISA in Focus highlights some of the key findings from Volume V of PISA 2022. It explores these three critical components and provides insights into how well students are prepared to become self-directed learners capable of thriving in a rapidly changing world.

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Promoting students’ competencies and effective pedagogies for the 21st century in the German-speaking Community of Belgium

In 2023, the German-speaking Community of Belgium laid out an ambitious vision for its education system, designed to guide policy development until 2040 (“Bildungsvision 2040 – Meine Bildung. Meine Zukunft!”). This policy perspective draws on research evidence and the experience of international education systems to support the German-speaking Community in translating this vision into an actionable strategy and implementation plan. It focuses on two of the vision’s central priorities: Strengthening students’ foundational skills alongside “21st century skills” and promoting effective pedagogical practices in schools. The document has four sections: 1) A description of the German-speaking Community’s education system and ongoing reforms; 2) Students’ core foundations and competencies in the German-speaking Community; 3) A review of evidence on the design and successful implementation of 21st century curricula; and 4) Policies to promote effective classroom practices in a context of pedagogical autonomy.

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Fewer books and more educational software

The home learning environment for 15-year-old students has changed in meaningful ways over the last decade, especially after 2018, according to PISA data. The rise of digital technology has meant books – traditionally the leading pedagogical resource – are increasingly competing with digital devices and Internet access. Since 2015, the overall number of books available at home decreased moderately, while the availability of educational software has surged. Certain types of books, such as dictionaries, have decreased the most, probably replaced by digital equivalents (online dictionaries). In contrast, paper copies of classic literature are more widely available at home than before. While there is potential for digital technologies to enhance education, this largely remains untapped, and the risks for adolescents’ well-being are clearer today. Education policy should explore ways to support families and students to navigate these complex changes in the family learning environment, balancing traditional and digital resources effectively.

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PISA in Focus

See the series

What can we learn about teacher support for students from PISA data? 11 June 2025
The triangle of lifelong learning 13 November 2024
Fewer books and more educational software 24 September 2024
Shaping students' financial literacy 27 June 2024
New PISA results on creative thinking 18 June 2024
Managing screen time 27 May 2024
New PISA results: strengthening education systems in the wake of the pandemic 26 October 2023
How are education systems integrating creative thinking in schools? 16 June 2023
What can we learn from the PISA reading-fluency test? 28 April 2023
Are students ready to take on environmental challenges? 8 December 2022
Are students trying hard to succeed in PISA? 25 October 2022
Does the digital world open up an increasing divide in access to print books? 12 July 2022

Publications by cycle

The series of reports available on each cycle of PISA's periodic testing program on student performance.

Read our publications

Take a PISA test

Think you are smarter than a 15-year-old? Take our test and find out why reading, science and mathematics matters!

Discover PISA tests

Education GPS

Check out our key findings and policy recommendations

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Education GPS

Create customised data profiles and compare countries

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PISA data and methodology

Download the PISA databases, codebooks, background questionnaires and all materials needed to undertake your own analysis of the PISA data.

See all data and methodology

Dataset

PISA 2022 Database

Download the PISA 2022 dataset with the full set of responses from individual students, school principals, teachers and parents.
Dataset

PISA 2018 Database

Download the PISA 2018 dataset with the full set of responses from individual students, school principals, teachers and parents.
Dataset

PISA 2015 Database

Download the PISA 2015 dataset with the full set of responses from individual students, school principals, teachers and parents.
Dataset

PISA 2012 Database

Download the PISA 2012 dataset with the full set of responses from individual students, school principals and parents.
Dataset

PISA 2009 Database

Download the PISA 2009 dataset with the full set of responses from individual students, school principals and parents.
Dataset

PISA 2006 Database

Download the PISA 2006 dataset with the full set of responses from individual students, school principals and parents.
Dataset

PISA 2003 Database

Download the PISA 2003 dataset with the full set of responses from individual students, school principals and parents.
Dataset

PISA 2000 Database

Download the PISA 2000 dataset with the full set of responses from individual students, school principals and parents.
Dataset

PISA-D: PISA for Development

From this page you can download the PISA-D (PISA for Development) dataset with the full set of responses from individual students, out-of-school youth, school principals, teachers and parents. These files will be of use to statisticians and professional researchers who would like to undertake their own analysis of the PISA for Development data. The files available on this page include questionnaires, codebooks, data files in SAS™ and SPSS™ formats, and compendia.

Research and Innovation

The Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) programme established by the PISA Governing Board in 2018 explores how different areas of the assessment programme including test design and scoring methodologies can be improved.

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PISA initiatives

International Vocational Education and Training Assessment (PISA-VET)

Inspired by PISA, the OECD is developing a new international assessment to measure the skills of learners completing initial vocational education and training (VET) programmes in selected occupations. PISA-VET will measure the learners’ ability to use their professional knowledge and skills to meet real challenges faced in the workplace.

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PISA for Schools

The PISA-based Test for Schools provides school-level estimates of performance and information about the learning environment and students’ attitudes gathered from student questionnaires. Find out more and how schools and their networks can take part.

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PISA High Performing Systems for Tomorrow (HPST)

The OECD’s PISA High Performing Systems for Tomorrow (HPST) project aims to establish a comprehensive international framework for the future development of education systems, enabling countries to reorient their education systems toward new purposes, policies and practices, while considering the implications of artificial intelligence for the purposes of education.

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PISA participation

PISA 2022 participating countrie and economies plus previous participants

Consult the list of countries and economies that have participated in PISA to date

Since 2000, PISA has involved more than

100

countries and economies

and around

3 700 000

students worldwide

Next steps

OECD member countries and PGB associate members decided to postpone two PISA cycles to reflect the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The PISA 2021 assessment was postponed to 2022, and PISA 2024 to 2025.

PISA 2025

PISA 2025 will focus on science and include a new assessment of foreign languages. It will also include the innovative domain of Learning in the Digital World which aims to measure students’ ability to engage in self-regulated learning while using digital tools.

PISA 2029

PISA 2029 will be the 10th edition of PISA. It will focus on reading, with an innovative domain of Media and Artificial Intelligence Literacy. Click here for more information about PISA 2029.

Want to join PISA?

Countries and economies applying now will be eligible for participation in the data collection in 2025 (PISA 2025).

How to join PISA

FAQ

If you haven't found the information you're looking for, review our frequently asked questions.

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Contacts

Four groups are involved in the day-to-day running of PISA:

OECD Secretariat: responsible for the day-to-day management of PISA.
PISA Governing Board: determines the policy priorities and makes sure they are respected during the implementation of each PISA survey; you can also read a statement on the development, implementation and reporting of PISA.
National Project Managers (NPMs): oversee the implementation of PISA in each participating country/economy.
2025 2022 2018 2015 2012 2009 2006 2003 2000
International contractors: design and implement the surveys. Questions should be directed to the OECD Secretariat.

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PISA Conference
29-30 November 2024