Israeli students continue to lag behind their OECD counterparts in reading, mathematics and science, according to the latest results of The Program for International Student Assessment test (PISA) released Tuesday.
The PISA exam, which is administered every three years since 2000 in 72 countries, aims to assess education systems around the world by measuring 15 year-old students’ skills in literacy, math and science.
According to the results, Israel’s achievement in science stood at 467 points compared to the OECD average of 493, ranking Israel in 40th place.
So too in reading do Israeli students score significantly lower than their OECD counterparts, 479 compared to 493, respectively, with a ranking of 37.
The findings further indicated only 13.9% of Israeli students were “top performers” (students receiving the highest level scores) in at least one subject compared to the OECD average of 15.3%.
In contrast, Israel had a much higher rate of “low achievers” in all three subjects, 20.2%, compared to the OECD average of 13%.
As such, across all areas tested, Israel showed among the largest range of grades in the world and the largest range among OECD countries.
According to the National Authority for Measurement and Evaluation in Education, which released the breakdown of Israeli student PISA test scores, there were significant gaps between students of different sectors and socioeconomic standings.
When breaking the results down according to sector, the findings indicated that Hebrew speaking pupils scored similar to or evens surpassed the average OECD student in all three subjects.
In science, Hebrew speaking students scored 488, almost comparable to the 493 points scored by the average OECD student and some 87 points higher than the average Arabic speaking student.
In mathematics, Hebrew speaking students surpassed the OECD average scoring some 495 points compared to 490, respectively, while Arabic speaking students receive an average score of 391.
Similarly, in reading, Hebrew speaking students surpassed their OECD counterparts scoring 507 compared to 493, respectively, while among Arabic speaking students scored an average of 391.
Furthermore, the rate of “low achievers” in all three subjects among Arabic speaking pupils was 45%, compared to only 12% for Hebrew-speakers and there were almost no excellent students among Arabic speakers.
With regards to socioeconomic standing, large gaps were also revealed between students who were well off and those from lower standings.
In science for example, students from high socioeconomic backgrounds scored an average of 511 points, compared to 472 among those from mid-range socioeconomic backgrounds and 420 among students from low socioeconomic backgrounds.
In math, the results are similar as students from high socioeconomic backgrounds scored 510 points on average, compared to 478 and 423, among students from mid-level and low socioeconomic standings, respectively.
“The results of the exams emphasize the need for minimizing gaps in education in Israel,” Education Minister Naftali Bennett said in reaction to the results.
He added that the results of the Meitzav exams (an internal test which measures fifth and eighth grade achievements in math, science, and either Hebrew or Arabic), which were released last month, indicated for the first time a narrowing of gaps.
“However, the road ahead is still long and we have a lot of work ahead of us,” he said. “We will continue to invest so that every child in Ofakim, [and] Rahat will have equal opportunity to those in Ramat HaSharon.”
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