Korea Ranks High in Academic Achievement Compared to OECD... Math Ranks 1st-2nd Among 37 Countries

Reading ranks 1st to 7th, Science ranks 2nd to 5th
Increase in high achievement levels across all areas
Female average scores rise in all areas
Economic and other backgrounds have low impact on academic performance

It has been identified that the level of academic literacy achievement in South Korea ranks among the top compared to other countries. In particular, the degree of academic anxiety has decreased, and students' positive perception of the classroom atmosphere has increased.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) officially announced the results of the "Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022" on the 5th (local time). PISA is an assessment conducted every three years to internationally compare the achievement and trends in mathematics, reading, and science literacy of 15-year-old students. Approximately 690,000 students from 81 countries worldwide (37 member countries and 44 non-member countries) participated in this assessment, with South Korea involving 6,931 students from 186 schools.

South Korean students scored higher than the OECD average in all areas. Among OECD member countries, South Korea ranked 1st to 2nd in mathematics, 1st to 7th in reading, and 2nd to 5th in science. Among all 81 countries, South Korea achieved high rankings of 3rd to 7th in mathematics, 2nd to 12th in reading, and 2nd to 9th in science.

Notably, while the average scores of OECD member countries declined across all areas compared to the 2018 assessment results, South Korea's average scores in mathematics, reading, and science increased. Compared to 2018, the proportion of students at the higher achievement levels increased in all areas, and the proportion at the lower achievement levels decreased in reading and science.

On the morning of June 1st, when the 2024 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) mock exam was conducted, students at Yeouido Girls' High School in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, were solving workbooks in the classroom while waiting for the exam to start. Photo by Joint Press Corps

Looking at achievement by gender, South Korean male students scored higher in mathematics, while female students scored higher in reading and science. Compared to the 2018 assessment results, the 2022 results showed an increase in the average scores of male students in mathematics and science, but a decrease in reading. Conversely, female students' average scores increased in all areas.

By subject, the proportion of both high and low achievement levels in mathematics increased compared to the 2018 assessment. In reading, the proportion of high achievement levels increased, while the low achievement levels decreased. In science, the proportion of high achievement levels rose, and the proportion of low achievement levels declined.

[Source: Ministry of Education]

In mathematics, the main subject chosen, anxiety decreased compared to 2012, and the perception of the classroom atmosphere improved. In particular, South Korea's anxiety index (-0.05) in the 2022 assessment was lower than the OECD average (0.17) and lower than the 2012 assessment (0.31). Additionally, the classroom atmosphere index (0.84) was higher than the OECD average (0.02) and higher than the 2012 assessment (0.19).

Within-school variance in scores, representing the proportion of variance due to differences in student achievement levels, was 98.1%, higher than the OECD average of 68.3%. Between-school variance proportion (40.3%) was also higher than the OECD average (31.6%).

The influence of students' economic, social, and cultural status indicators on their mathematics achievement in South Korea was lower than the OECD average. South Korea's economic, social, and cultural status indicator was 0.22, higher than the OECD average (0.00). However, the proportion of variance indicating the impact of this indicator on students' mathematics scores was 12.6%, lower than the OECD average of 15.5%. This suggests that economic, social, and cultural backgrounds have a relatively low impact on mathematics scores in South Korea.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.