Building core literacy, numeracy and digital skills in the first phase of upper secondary education in Northern Ireland

Annex A. Overview of comparison systems

Table A A.1. Overview of comparison countries

These systems were chosen because of their strong learning outcomes in maths and reading, and young people’s post-secondary outcomes.

	PISA 2025 Maths mean score	PISA 2025 Reading mean score	Upper Secondary Education theoretical age range	Point of first selection	End of compulsory education	% 25-34-year-olds attaining USE (2023)	% 20-24-year-olds enrolled in tertiary education (2022)	% 18-24-year-olds NEET (2023)
Northern Ireland	473	482	14-18	16	16	85.3	m	10.6
Australia	478	491	16-18	18	17	92.3	37.4	9.7
Austria	477	467	14-18/19	10	15	90.1	31.9	12.0
Canada	485	490	15-18	18	16	95.2	34.0	11.3
Denmark	471	460	16-19	16	15	82.4	38.1	11.6
Ireland	480	500	15/16-18	15	16	94.9	36.7	8.6
OECD average	463	461	-	-	-	86.4	34.8	13.6

Note:

• Above OECD average.

• Not significantly different from the OECD average.

• Below OECD average.

‘m’ represents that data is missing.

Upper secondary educational age ranges are approximate.

In Austria, the duration of upper secondary depends on the programme. An upper secondary general programme leading to the Matriculation exam typically takes four years. An upper secondary vocational programme leading to the Matriculation exam and diploma typically takes five years.

In Canada, in Quebec only, upper secondary education has a duration of two years.

In Denmark, an upper secondary vocational programme can take up to five years. Upper secondary general programmes typically take two or three years.

In Ireland, duration of upper secondary education can vary depending on whether students take the one-year Transition Year, changing upper secondary from a two-year to a three-year programme.

Source: OECD (2026[26]), PISA 2025 Results (Volume I): Future-Ready Students, https://doi.org/10.1787/73451bc5-en; OECD (2024[61]), OECD Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators (Adults’ educational attainment distribution, by age group and gender, Educational attainment – Regions, Enrolment rate by age, Distribution of young adults’ education and work status, for a given level of educational attainment, age group and gender, Youth exclusion from education – Regions), https://doi.org/10.1787/c00cad36-en, published on the OECD Data Explorer.

• Australia (upper secondary ages 16-18) is a federal system states and territories award upper secondary certification, such as the Western Australia Certificate of Education or the New South Wales High School Certificate. Most states have minimum literacy and numeracy requirements for upper secondary certification. For example, in Western Australia, students must demonstrate literacy and numeracy skills via the OLNA, unless they had already achieved above a certain threshold in national assessments at Year 9, as a part of the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) (Government of Western Australia - School Curriculum and Standards Authority, n.d.[62]).

• Austria (ages 14-18) is a system with distinct general and vocational programmes leading to the Matura or vocational diplomas. Students are required to take national language and mathematics throughout upper secondary completion.

• Canada (ages 15-18) is a system where education is organised provincially, with most provinces providing a single general programme, with options for including vocational education within this. All students tend to achieve an upper secondary certificate – for example, in British Columbia, the Dogwood Diploma – after having achieved a certain number of credits, gained from completing courses. Most provinces, including British Columbia, also require students to sit provincial literacy and numeracy assessments in order to meet graduation requirements.

• Denmark (ages 16-19) provides four upper secondary general programmes (Stx, Hhx, Htx and Hf) and two main types of vocational programmes (Eud, Eux). Denmark is currently reforming its upper secondary programme offer, in order to provide stronger pathways, particularly focussing on stronger skills development leading to better labour market transitions, while still keeping students’ options open for higher education.

• Ireland (ages 16-18) provides three general upper secondary programmes: Leaving Certificate (Established), Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme, Leaving Certificate Applied, with students able to do a Transition Year between lower and upper secondary. Students in Ireland have a high degree of choice over the subjects they take, with Irish being a compulsory subject and English and maths also often being treated as compulsory.