What PISA 2022 Tells Us About Math Around the World

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1. 01What PISA 2022 Tells Us About Math

   Good morning. I'm a math teacher in Vancouver. Every few years, the OECD runs PISA, a test that compares what fifteen-year-olds in many countries can do. In 2022, the main focus was math. Today, I'll share some key results and what they mean.

   Source: OECD, PISA 2022 Results (Volume I): The State of Learning and Equity in Education (2023)

2. 02Not Just Memorizing

   First, it's important to know what PISA measures. It isn't about memorizing formulas. It tests whether students can use math to solve problems in real-life situations.

   Source: OECD, PISA 2022 Results (Volume I): The State of Learning and Equity in Education (2023)

3. 03The Scores

   Here are three numbers. Singapore scored 575 points, the highest of all participants. Japan scored 536, the top score among OECD countries. The OECD average was 472.

   Sources: OECD, PISA 2022 Results (Volume I) (2023); OECD, PISA 2022 Results Country Note: Japan; National Institute for Educational Policy Research (NIER), Japan: "Japan's PISA 2022 Results (Summary)"

4. 04East Asia Leads

   The top of the table was dominated by East Asia. Six education systems, Singapore, Macao, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Japan, and Korea, outperformed all other participants in math.

   Source: OECD, PISA 2022 Results (Volume I) (2023)

5. 05A Drop Since 2018

   Another important finding: the OECD average fell sharply compared with 2018. It's tempting to blame school closures during the pandemic, but the causes are complex. Japan's score, however, rose from 527 in 2018.

   Sources: National Institute for Educational Policy Research (NIER), Japan: "Japan's PISA 2022 Results (Summary)"; OECD, PISA 2022 Results (Volume I) (2023)

6. 06What the Scores Can't Tell Us

   But we should be careful. A test score can't tell us whether students enjoy math, whether they're creative, or how stressed they feel. High scores are good, but they're not the whole picture.

7. 07What Teachers Can Take From It

   As a teacher, my biggest takeaway is this: since PISA tests real-world problem-solving, we should teach math through real problems too, like planning a budget or reading a graph in the news.

8. 08Conclusion

   In conclusion, PISA gives us useful data for comparing countries and spotting trends. But it's a starting point for discussion, not the final word on education. Thank you.