Mexico among the three worst rated countries in mathematics, science and reading: Pisa test

After the pandemic, the educational level in Mexico suffered a significant decline, resulting in third-year secondary school students receiving an assessment of skills and knowledge lower than the average of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.

According to the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which administered multiple-choice tests and questionnaires to 15-year-old students to determine their performance in mathematics, science, and reading comprehension; Our country ranked 35th out of 37 member states evaluated.

This achieved an overall total of 407, while the average reached 478 points; While the largest defect occurs in particular in mathematics, where the difference was (-)77; In the case of science, the difference was (-) 75 points, placing itself in this field as the country with the worst scores; In reading comprehension (-) 61 points.

“Mexico experienced the worst decline in its results since its participation in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2000. Scores fell in the three skills assessed compared to the last four versions of the test. In comparison, the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO) said: In the 2018 edition alone, Mexico’s score dropped by (-) 14 points in mathematics, (-) 9 in science, and (-) 5 in reading comprehension.”

Regarding the reasons for this gap in performance within Mexico, PISA pointed to the difference in opportunities derived from socio-economic status; To the support and discipline of both teachers and mothers and fathers; To be aware of student safety; Learning during quarantine; Above all, the resources that the state invests in education.

However, Mexico was not the only country to see negative effects following the quarantine and pandemic, as student performance globally saw an unprecedented decline: it fell by 15 points in mathematics and 10 points in reading comprehension, compared to the previous edition (2018).