PISA 2022 Results (Volume I and II) ‑ Country Notes: Saudi Arabia
Table of contents
The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) assesses the knowledge and skills of 15-year-old students in mathematics, reading and science. The tests explore how well students can solve complex problems, think critically and communicate effectively. This gives insights into how well education systems are preparing students for real life challenges and future success. Saudi Arabia participated for the first time in PISA in 2018. By comparing results internationally, policy makers and educators in Saudi Arabia can learn from other countries’ policies and practices.
Average 2022 results were up compared to 2018 in mathematics; down compared to 2018 in reading; and about the same as in 2018 in science.
Over the most recent period (2018 to 2022), the gap between the highest-scoring students (10% with the highest scores) and the weakest students (10% with the lowest scores) narrowed in mathematics, reading and science. In mathematics, low-achievers became stronger, while performance did not change significantly amongst high-achievers.
Compared to 2018 the proportion of students scoring below a baseline level of proficiency (Level 2) did not change significantly in mathematics, reading and science.
Saudi Arabia, OECD average and selected comparison countries
Notes: Comparison countries include the six highest-performing countries in each subject and the five countries with the largest population of 15-year-old students.
Horizontal lines that extend beyond the markers represent a measure of uncertainty associated with mean estimates (the 95% confidence interval).
Source: OECD, PISA 2022 Database, Tables I.B1.2.1, I.B1.2.2 and I.B1.2.3.
Students in Saudi Arabia scored less than the OECD average in mathematics, reading and science.
A smaller proportion of students in Saudi Arabia, than on average across OECD countries, were top performers (Level 5 or 6) in at least one subject. At the same time a smaller proportion of students than on average across OECD countries achieved a minimum level of proficiency (Level 2 or higher) in all three subjects.
In Saudi Arabia, 30% of students attained at least Level 2 proficiency in mathematics, significantly less than on average across OECD countries (OECD average: 69%). At a minimum, these students can interpret and recognize, without direct instructions, how a simple situation can be represented mathematically (e.g. comparing the total distance across two alternative routes, or converting prices into a different currency). Over 85% of students in Singapore, Macao (China), Japan, Hong Kong (China)*, Chinese Taipei and Estonia (in descending order of that share) performed at this level or above.
Almost no students in Saudi Arabia were top performers in mathematics, meaning that they attained Level 5 or 6 in the PISA mathematics test (OECD average: 9%). Six Asian countries and economies had the largest shares of students who did so: Singapore (41%), Chinese Taipei (32%), Macao (China) (29%), Hong Kong (China)* (27%), Japan (23%) and Korea (23%). At these levels, students can model complex situations mathematically, and can select, compare and evaluate appropriate problem-solving strategies for dealing with them. Only in 16 out of 81 countries and economies participating in PISA 2022 did more than 10% of students attain Level 5 or 6 proficiency.
Note: Numbers inside the figure correspond to percentages.
Source: OECD, PISA 2022 Database, Tables I.B1.3.1, I.B1.3.2 and I.B1.3.3.
Some 37% of students in Saudi Arabia attained Level 2 or higher in reading (OECD average: 74%). At a minimum, these students can identify the main idea in a text of moderate length, find information based on explicit, though sometimes complex criteria, and can reflect on the purpose and form of texts when explicitly directed to do so. The share of 15-year-old students who attained minimum levels of proficiency in reading (Level 2 or higher) varied from 89% in Singapore to 8% in Cambodia.
In Saudi Arabia, almost no students scored at Level 5 or higher in reading (OECD average: 7%). These students can comprehend lengthy texts, deal with concepts that are abstract or counterintuitive, and establish distinctions between fact and opinion, based on implicit cues pertaining to the content or source of the information.
Some 38% of students in Saudi Arabia attained Level 2 or higher in science (OECD average: 76%). At a minimum, these students can recognize the correct explanation for familiar scientific phenomena and can use such knowledge to identify, in simple cases, whether a conclusion is valid based on the data provided.
In Saudi Arabia, almost no students were top performers in science, meaning that they were proficient at Level 5 or 6 (OECD average: 7%). These students can creatively and autonomously apply their knowledge of and about science to a wide variety of situations, including unfamiliar ones.
This PISA test was originally due to be conducted in 2021 but was delayed by one year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The exceptional circumstances throughout this period, including lockdowns and school closures in many countries, led to occasional difficulties in collecting some data. While the vast majority of countries and economies met PISA’s technical standards, a small number did not. A country or economy in this note with an asterisk (*) next to its name means that caution is required when interpreting estimates because one or more PISA sampling standards were not reached. Further information can be found in the Reader’s Guide and in Annexes A2 and A4 of the main report.
In Saudi Arabia, all data met the quality standards set by PISA and were considered fit for reporting.
Note: The size of markers is proportional to the share of the student population within each quintile of socio-economic status (as determined by the PISA index of economic, social and cultural status, ESCS). Quintiles are defined at the international level, to include 20% of PISA participants in each quintile; within each national sample, the proportion can therefore differ from 20%.
Vertical bars that extend beyond the markers represent a measure of uncertainty associated with each estimate (the 95% confidence interval). Horizontal, dashed lines represent the uncertainty associated with the mean score of the largest group of students (as defined by international quintiles) within Saudi Arabia.
Source: OECD, PISA 2022 Database, Tables I.B1.4.6 and I.B1.4.8.
The PISA index of economic, social and cultural status is computed in such a way that all students taking the PISA test, regardless of the country where they live, can be placed on the same socio-economic scale. This means that it is possible to use this index to compare the performance of students of similar socio-economic background in different countries. In Saudi Arabia, 30% of students (the largest share) were in the 4th international quintile of the socio-economic scale, meaning that they were neither among the most disadvantaged, nor among the most advantaged students who took the PISA test in 2022. Their average score in mathematics was 393 score points. In Estonia and Japan, students of similar socio-economic background tend to score significantly higher.
The PISA index of economic, social and cultural status can also be used to order students from the most disadvantaged to the most advantaged within each country and economy, and to create four groups of students of equal size (each comprising 25% of the population of 15-year-old students in each country/economy). In Saudi Arabia socio-economically advantaged students (the top 25% in terms of socio-economic status) outperformed disadvantaged students (the bottom 25%) by 47 score points in mathematics. This is smaller than the average difference between the two groups (93 score points) across OECD countries.
Between 2018 and 2022, the gap in mathematics performance between the top and the bottom 25% of students in terms of socio-economic status narrowed in Saudi Arabia, while the average gap across OECD countries remained stable.
Socio-economic status was a predictor of performance in mathematics in all PISA participating countries and economies. It accounted for 6% of the variation in mathematics performance in PISA 2022 in Saudi Arabia (compared to 15% on average across OECD countries).
Some 14% of disadvantaged students in Saudi Arabia were able to score in the top quarter of mathematics performance. These students can be considered academically resilient because, despite their socio-economic disadvantage, they have attained educational excellence by comparison with students in their own country. On average across OECD countries, 10% of disadvantaged students scored in the top quarter of mathematics performance in their own countries.
Boys and girls performed at similar levels on average in mathematics but girls outperformed boys in reading by 33 score points in Saudi Arabia. Globally, in mathematics, boys outperformed girls in 40 countries and economies, girls outperformed boys in another 17 countries or economies, and no significant difference was found in the remaining 24. In reading, girls, on average, scored above boys in all but two countries and economies that participated in PISA 2022 (79 out of 81).
In Saudi Arabia, the share of low performers is similar among boys (69%) and girls (71%) in mathematics; in reading, however, the share is larger among boys (55% of girls and 71% of boys scored below Level 2 in reading).
Between 2018 and 2022, performance in mathematics improved among boys, but remained stable among girls in Saudi Arabia.
Immigrant students are defined as students whose parents were born in a country/economy other than that where the student took the PISA test. Students with an immigrant background can be distinguished between first- and second-generation immigrants. First-generation immigrants are those who were also born outside the country of assessment; second-generation students are students born in the country of assessment but whose parent(s) were born outside the country of assessment.
The share of immigrant students has remained stable in Saudi Arabia at around 11% in 2022 (12% in 2018). In 2022, 6% of 15-year-old students were first-generation immigrants, meaning that they were born in another country/economy, and their families moved to Saudi Arabia only in recent years. Among these first-generation immigrant students, 54% arrived in Saudi Arabia at or before age 5; 15% arrived after age 12, and after completing the elementary grades in another education system.
Immigrant students in Saudi Arabia tend to have a more advantaged socio-economic profile than non-immigrant students; while 25% of all students are considered socio-economically disadvantaged, the corresponding share among students with an immigrant background is 20%. Some 18% of immigrant students (and 6% of all remaining students) reported that the language they speak at home most of the time is different from the language in which they took the PISA assessment.
In mathematics, the average difference in performance between immigrant and non-immigrant students was 29 score points in favour of immigrant students, a significant difference. After accounting for students’ socio-economic profile, a significant difference of 27 score points in favour of immigrant students was observed.
In reading, the average difference in performance between immigrant and non-immigrant students was 34 score points in favour of immigrant students, a significant difference. After accounting for students’ socio-economic profile, a significant difference of 32 score points in favour of immigrant students was observed.
In 2022, 71% of students in Saudi Arabia reported that they make friends easily at school (OECD average: 76%) and 73% felt that they belong at school (OECD average: 75%). Meanwhile, 18% reported feeling lonely at school, and 20% like an outsider or left out of things at school (OECD average: 16% and 17%). Compared to 2018, students’ sense of belonging at school did not change significantly in Saudi Arabia.
Students’ satisfaction with life, more generally, declined in many countries and economies over recent years. In 2022, 17% of students in Saudi Arabia reported that they were not satisfied with their lives: they rated their satisfaction with life between 0 and 4 on a scale ranging from 0 to 10. In 2018, fewer students were not satisfied with life (15%). On average across OECD countries, the proportion of students who are not satisfied with life increased from 11% in 2015 to 16% in 2018 and 18% in 2022.
Note: Numbers inside the figure correspond to percentages.
Source: OECD, PISA 2022 Database, Table II.B1.1.4.
In Saudi Arabia, 76% of students reported that, in most mathematics lessons, the teacher shows an interest in every student’s learning (OECD average: 63%), and 77% that the teacher gives extra help when students need it (OECD average: 70%).
Many students study mathematics in a disciplinary climate that is not favourable to learning: in 2022, about 24% of students in Saudi Arabia reported that they cannot work well in most or all lessons (OECD average: 23%); 25% of students do not listen to what the teacher says (OECD average: 30%); 19% of students get distracted using digital devices (OECD average: 30%); and 17% get distracted by other students who are using digital devices (OECD average: 25%). On average across OECD countries, students were less likely to report getting distracted using digital devices when the use of cell phones on school premises is banned.
PISA 2022 data show that in education systems where performance remained high and students’ sense of belonging improved, students tended to feel safer and less exposed to bullying and other risks at their school.
In Saudi Arabia, 9% of students reported not feeling safe on their way to school (OECD average: 8%); 10% of students reported not feeling safe in their classrooms at school (OECD average: 7%); 16% of students reported not feeling safe at other places at school (e.g. hallway, cafeteria, restroom) (OECD average: 10%).
Some 13% of girls and 21% of boys reported being the victim of bullying acts at least a few times a month (OECD average: 20% of girls and 21% of boys). On average across OECD countries, fewer students were exposed to bullying in 2022 compared to 2018: for example, only 7% of students reported that other students spread nasty rumours about them in 2022, compared to 11% in 2018. In Saudi Arabia, too, the corresponding proportions shrank (6% in 2022 compared to 15% in 2018).
PISA data collected from school principals show that the percentage of parents who were involved in school and learning decreased substantially between 2018 and 2022 in many countries/economies. This was not the case in Saudi Arabia. In 2022, 42% of students in Saudi Arabia were in schools whose principal reported that during the previous academic year at least half of all families discussed their child’s progress with a teacher on their own initiative (and 47% on the teacher’s initiative). In 2018, the corresponding number was 45% (and 34%). Systems that had more positive trends in parental involvement between 2018 and 2022 (i.e. systems in which the share of parents who discussed their child’s progress with a teacher on their own initiative shrank less) tended to show more stable or improved performance in mathematics.
During remote learning, 31% of students in Saudi Arabia had problems at least once a week with understanding school assignments and 29% of students with finding someone who could help them with schoolwork (OECD averages: 34% and 24%). In education systems where performance remained high and students’ sense of belonging improved, fewer students encountered problems during remote learning.
If school buildings have to close again in the future, many students across the OECD feel confident about using digital technology for learning remotely but fewer students feel confident about taking responsibility for their own learning. Some 69% of students in Saudi Arabia feel confident or very confident about using a video communication program and 74% of students feel confident or very confident about motivating themselves to do school work (OECD averages: 77% and 58%).
In about half of all countries/economies with comparable data, school principals in 2022 were more likely than their counterparts in 2018 to report a shortage of teaching staff. This was not the case in Saudi Arabia. In 2022, 55% of students in Saudi Arabia were in schools whose principal reported that the school’s capacity to provide instruction is hindered by a lack of teaching staff (and 39%, by inadequate or poorly qualified teaching staff). In 2018, the corresponding proportions were 50% and 40%. In most countries/economies, students attending schools whose principal reported shortages of teaching staff scored lower in mathematics than students in schools whose principal reported fewer or no shortages of teaching staff.
When they sat the PISA test in 2022, 90% of 15-year-old students in Saudi Arabia were enrolled in 10th grade.
In Saudi Arabia, 71% reported that they had attended pre-primary education for one year or more (OECD average: 94%). On average across OECD countries, students who had attended pre-primary education for one year or more scored higher in mathematics at the age of 15 than students who never attended or who had attended for less than one year, even after accounting for socio-economic factors.
Some 6% of students in Saudi Arabia reported that they had repeated a grade at least once (OECD average: 9%) after entering primary school. Grade repetition tends to be less prevalent in high performing systems.
In Saudi Arabia, 7% of students attended a school where principals had the main responsibility for hiring teachers (OECD average: 60%), and 13% were enrolled in a school where teachers had the main responsibility for choosing which learning materials are used (OECD average: 76%). Many high-performing school systems tend to entrust principals and teachers with these responsibilities.
The PISA 2022 survey focused on mathematics, with reading and science as minor areas and creative thinking as the innovative area of assessment. PISA 2022 also included an assessment of young people’s financial literacy, which was optional for countries and economies. Results for mathematics, reading and science are released on 5 December 2023 and results for creative thinking and financial literacy in 2024.
Some 690 000 students took the assessment in 2022, representing about 29 million 15-year-olds in the schools of the 81 participating countries and economies.
In Saudi Arabia, 6928 students, in 193 schools, completed the assessment in mathematics, reading or science, representing about 317 500 15-year-old students (an estimated 81% of the total population of 15-year-olds).
Students took two hour-long tests, each devoted to one subject. Different students were given different test questions and different combinations of subjects (e.g. mathematics followed by reading, or science followed by mathematics, etc.). Test items were a mixture of multiple-choice questions and questions requiring students to construct their own responses.
Students also answered a background questionnaire, which took about 35 minutes to complete. The questionnaire sought information about the students themselves, their attitudes, dispositions and beliefs, their homes, and their school and learning experiences. School principals completed a questionnaire about school management, organisation, and the learning environment.
Some countries/economies also distributed additional questionnaires, to students, parents and/or teachers, to elicit more information. The findings from these optional questionnaires are not covered by this note.
References
OECD (2023), PISA 2022 Results (Volume I): The State of Learning and Equity in Education, PISA, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/53f23881-en
OECD (2023), PISA 2022 Results (Volume II): Learning During – and From – Disruption, PISA, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/a97db61c-en
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This note was written by Francesco Avvisati and Rodolfo Ilizaliturri, Directorate for Education and Skills.
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