As the global benchmark in educational assessments, PISA results are always hotly anticipated. The eighth round of PISA assessment was originally planned to take place in 2021 but the disruption caused by COVID-19 forced the assessment to be...

Creative thinking matters. It is consistently ranked among the top skills employers value and, when students think creatively, their motivation to learn increases and their learning becomes deeper and more transferable. As more education systems...

Proficient readers use and engage with a variety of texts, including books, online articles and social media. They can find information, understand the literal and the implied meaning, and reflect critically on content and form. But before students...

The world demands bold action to meet the global goal of zero net emissions by 2050. Young people will experience the consequences of climate change more directly during their lifetime than any previous generation in recent history. Education can...

Many students view PISA as a low-stakes assessment. Their lack of willingness to give the assessment “their all” is reflected in students’ performance. Boys are often disengaged, resulting in low test performance. Disengagement should be measured in...

Over the last two decades, reading has shifted from taking place on paper to, increasingly, screens. As digitalisation spreads, there have been growing concerns about unbalanced access to new types of resources between socio-economically advantaged...

Many education systems aim to provide learning opportunities to all students regardless of their backgrounds in order for them to realise their potential. Education systems are expected to break down barriers to social mobility. However, too often,...

Teaching foreign languages has become a major goal for many education systems around the world. In today’s increasingly interconnected world, speaking multiple languages improves employability, fosters respect for people from other cultures, and...

In 2020 and 2021, schooling, like many other aspects of life, has been heavily affected by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. During periods of school closure, education systems and schools have often been quick to organise remote support for...

Most students have the beliefs and dispositions to help them cope and learn in challenging situations. The current pandemic has been ongoing since early 2020. This has affected ways in which teaching and learning are organised. Schools have had to...

Digital technologies have changed how people interact with information. PISA data shows that 15-year-olds increasingly read online to fulfil information needs (e.g. online news versus newspapers). At the same time, technological changes in the...

Why do certain students thrive when facing adversity while others languish? In the mindset theory, growth mindset is opposed to fixed mindset, and could explain why some people fulfil their potential and others do not. With the COVID pandemic...

In recent years, more attention has been paid to the way gender interacts with intercultural and global learning opportunities. While evidence shows that schools are shaping a gendered citizenry, the notions of citizenship in this research has been...

PISA for Development (PISA-D) aims to make the assessment more accessible and relevant to low- and middle-income countries. This report summarises findings from the out-of-school assessment results for PISA-D. By combining the out-of-school...

Many education systems seek to create an open, diverse and tolerant society, as education can play a significant role in countering racial, ethnic and national prejudice among children and adolescents. Education for living in an interconnected and...

The COVID-19 crisis continues to impact education globally. According to UNESCO in mid-April 2020, 194 countries had closed schools nationwide, affecting almost 1.6 billion learners. By August 2020, there were still 105 country-wide closures...

The benefits of co-operative behaviours have been broadly documented in various social contexts, including neighbourhoods, hospitals, companies and in education. In education, when students, teachers, parents and the school principal know and trust...

This May sees the release of the results from the third PISA assessment of financial literacy. These results are largely consistent with previous findings, but also go beyond earlier assessments in probing students’ behaviours and attitudes towards...

While in most countries today women attain higher levels of education than men, on average, they are less likely than men to be employed and they earn less. There are many reasons why these gender gaps open; some are apparent in secondary school. For...

Adolescence is a period when young people start to prepare for adult life. Teenagers have to make important decisions relevant to their working lives later on, such as what field of study or type of education they will pursue. But young people often...