Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015: highlights from Scotland's results: collaborative problem solving

The results of the PISA 2015 assessment of collaborative problem solving, showing Scotland’s results and those of other participating states.


Annex: Detailed results

Collaborative Problem Solving

Note for all tables

1. “s.e.” = “standard error”, “s.d.” = standard deviation

2. For all references to Malaysia, the OECD consider that the coverage is too small to ensure comparability. See Annex A4 of Volume I of the OECD report for further details.

Table A.1a: Mean scores in collaborative problem solving, by gender, and comparison with Scotland: OECD and UK administrations

Overall Scores by gender
Mean score S.D. Male Female
mean s.e. s.d. s.e. mean s.e. mean s.e.
Significantly above Scotland
Australia 531 (1.9) 107 (1.3) 511 (2.5) 552 (2.5)
Canada 535 (2.3) 104 (1.0) 516 (2.8) 555 (2.4)
England 521 (3.1) 104 (1.3) 504 (3.7) 539 (3.8)
Estonia 535 (2.5) 90 (1.3) 522 (2.9) 549 (2.7)
Finland 534 (2.6) 101 (1.5) 511 (3.2) 559 (3.0)
Germany 525 (2.8) 101 (1.5) 510 (3.4) 540 (3.0)
Japan 552 (2.7) 85 (1.8) 539 (3.6) 565 (2.6)
Korea 538 (2.5) 84 (1.5) 522 (3.5) 556 (3.3)
New Zealand 533 (2.4) 106 (1.7) 513 (3.2) 553 (3.0)

Similar to Scotland
Austria 509 (2.6) 98 (1.5) 498 (3.4) 521 (3.4)
Denmark 520 (2.5) 90 (1.2) 509 (2.9) 530 (3.3)
Netherlands 518 (2.4) 97 (1.5) 504 (3.0) 531 (2.8)
Northern Ireland 514 (3.7) 88 (1.9) 500 (4.2 528 (4.8)
Scotland 513 (2.5) 99 (1.7) 497 (3.4) 530 (3.0)
Sweden 510 (3.4) 98 (1.8) 489 (4.0) 531 (3.8)
United Kingdom 519 (2.7) 103 (1.1) 503 (3.1) 536 (3.3)
United States 520 (3.6) 108 (1.7) 507 (4.4) 533 (4.0)

Significantly below Scotland
Belgium 501 (2.4) 99 (1.4) 489 (3.0) 514 (2.9)
Chile 457 (2.7) 84 (1.3) 450 (3.1) 464 (3.1)
Czech Republic 499 (2.2) 91 (1.4) 486 (2.9) 512 (2.7)
France 494 (2.4) 100 (1.5) 480 (3.4) 508 (2.8)
Greece 459 (3.6) 92 (1.6) 444 (4.2) 475 (3.7)
Hungary 472 (2.4) 95 (1.6) 459 (3.3) 485 (2.8)
Iceland 499 (2.3) 94 (1.9) 485 (3.0) 512 (2.6)
Israel 469 (3.6) 105 (1.8) 459 (4.3) 481 (4.7)
Italy 478 (2.5) 96 (1.6) 466 (3.4) 489 (3.4)
Latvia 485 (2.3) 90 (1.3) 465 (2.6) 505 (2.9)
Luxembourg 491 (1.5) 100 (1.0) 478 (2.5) 504 (1.9)
Mexico 433 (2.5) 79 (1.5) 426 (2.9) 440 (2.7)
Norway 502 (2.5) 94 (1.6) 487 (3.0) 518 (3.2)
OECD average 500 (0.5) 95 (0.3) 486 (0.6) 515 (0.5)
Portugal 498 (2.6) 91 (1.3) 489 (3.2) 507 (2.7)
Slovak Republic 463 (2.4) 93 (1.5) 448 (2.8) 478 (3.4)
Slovenia 502 (1.8) 93 (1.3) 484 (2.2) 521 (2.2)
Spain 496 (2.1) 88 (1.1) 485 (2.7) 508 (2.6)
Turkey 422 (3.4) 78 (1.6) 411 (4.0) 434 (4.1)
Wales 496 (3.5) 89 (1.5) 485 (3.8) 508 (4.0)

Note
Countries are grouped by their position relative to Scotland when comparing the overall mean score

Table A.1b: Mean scores in collaborative problem solving, by gender, and comparison with Scotland: non- OECD countries and economies


Overall Scores by gender
Mean score S.D. Male Female
mean s.e. s.d. s.e. mean s.e mean s.e
Significantly above Scotland
Chinese Taipei 527 (2.5) 90 (1.5) 513 (3.4) 541 (3.4)
Hong Kong (China) 541 (2.9) 90 (1.6) 523 (3.7) 559 (3.4)
Macao (China) 534 (1.2) 90 (1.1) 515 (1.9) 553 (2.0)
Singapore 561 (1.2) 97 (1.2) 552 (1.7) 572 (2.1)

Significantly below Scotland
Brazil 412 (2.3) 87 (1.3) 402 (2.5) 421 (2.6)
B-S-J-G (China) 496 (4.0) 97 (2.1) 486 (3.9) 508 (4.6)
Bulgaria 444 (3.9) 98 (1.7) 429 (4.6) 461 (3.9)
Colombia 429 (2.3) 83 (1.4) 425 (2.9) 433 (2.7)
Costa Rica 441 (2.4) 78 (1.3) 437 (2.8) 445 (2.7)
Croatia 473 (2.5) 87 (1.5) 459 (3.3) 486 (2.6)
Cyprus 444 (1.7) 91 (1.3) 424 (2.0) 464 (2.2)
Lithuania 467 (2.5) 91 (1.4) 453 (2.9) 482 (2.8)
Malaysia 440 (3.3) 80 (1.7) 429 (3.6) 450 (3.4)
Montenegro 416 (1.3) 79 (1.2) 403 (1.8) 429 (2.0)
Peru 418 (2.5) 83 (1.6) 414 (2.8) 421 (3.0)
Russian Federation 473 (3.4) 92 (1.4) 460 (3.8) 486 (3.9)
Thailand 436 (3.5) 83 (1.7) 416 (4.1) 451 (3.6)
Tunisia 382 (1.9) 59 (1.4) 375 (2.3) 387 (2.3)
United Arab Emirates 435 (2.4) 95 (1.0) 416 (2.9) 454 (3.1)
Uruguay 443 (2.3) 91 (1.3) 434 (3.3) 451 (2.7)

Note
Countries are grouped by their position relative to Scotland when comparing the overall mean score

Table A.2: Estimates of proportion at each proficiency level (per cent), collaborative problem solving: OECD and UK administrations (Below Level 1 to Level 4)


Below Level 1 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4
% s.e. % s.e. % s.e. % s.e. % s.e
Australia 4.3 (0.3) 15.6 (0.6) 31.2 (0.6) 33.6 (0.8) 15.3 (0.7)
Austria 4.5 (0.4) 20.2 (0.9) 35.8 (1.0) 30.4 (1.0) 9.1 (0.7)
Belgium 5.7 (0.5) 21.1 (0.8) 36.7 (0.7) 29.3 (0.8) 7.1 (0.6)
Canada 3.4 (0.3) 15.0 (0.7) 32.0 (0.8) 33.8 (0.9) 15.7 (0.7)
Chile 8.4 (0.7) 33.9 (1.2) 40.5 (1.0) 16.0 (1.0) 1.2 (0.2)
Czech Republic 4.6 (0.5) 21.6 (0.8) 39.6 (1.0) 28.8 (1.0) 5.4 (0.4)
Denmark 2.7 (0.3) 16.3 (0.8) 38.8 (0.9) 33.4 (0.9) 8.9 (0.7)
Estonia 1.8 (0.3) 13.5 (0.7) 35.4 (1.1) 37.2 (1.0) 12.2 (0.8)
Finland 3.4 (0.4) 14.7 (0.8) 32.2 (1.0) 35.2 (1.0) 14.4 (0.8)
France 7.0 (0.5) 22.6 (0.7) 36.2 (0.9) 27.6 (1.0) 6.6 (0.5)
Germany 3.6 (0.4) 16.9 (0.8) 34.3 (0.9) 32.4 (0.8) 12.7 (0.7)
Greece 10.4 (1.0) 31.6 (1.2) 37.9 (1.1) 18.1 (1.0) 2.0 (0.3)
Hungary 8.7 (0.6) 28.6 (1.0) 37.4 (0.9) 22.0 (0.9) 3.3 (0.4)
Iceland 4.6 (0.5) 22.5 (1.0) 38.1 (1.2) 28.2 (1.0) 6.5 (0.6)
Israel 11.5 (0.9) 30.2 (1.1) 30.7 (1.2) 22.1 (1.0) 5.4 (0.5)
Italy 7.8 (0.6) 26.9 (1.0) 38.5 (1.0) 22.6 (0.9) 4.2 (0.5)
Japan 1.2 (0.2) 8.9 (0.7) 31.4 (1.0) 44.4 (1.1) 14.0 (0.8)
Korea 1.5 (0.3) 11.4 (0.7) 35.1 (0.9) 41.6 (1.0) 10.4 (0.8)
Latvia 5.6 (0.5) 25.4 (0.9) 41.3 (0.9) 23.8 (1.0) 3.9 (0.5)
Luxembourg 6.5 (0.5) 24.8 (0.7) 36.3 (0.7) 25.5 (0.7) 6.8 (0.4)
Mexico 12.2 (0.9) 41.2 (1.4) 37.4 (1.2) 8.8 (0.6) 0.4 (0.1)
Netherlands 3.4 (0.4) 18.6 (0.9) 35.7 (0.9) 32.3 (1.0) 10.0 (0.7)
New Zealand 3.8 (0.4) 15.9 (0.7) 31.3 (0.9) 33.2 (1.0) 15.8 (0.9)
Norway 4.4 (0.5) 21.0 (0.8) 39.5 (1.1) 28.3 (1.0) 6.8 (0.6)
Portugal 4.6 (0.4) 21.5 (0.9) 40.2 (0.8) 28.4 (1.0) 5.2 (0.5)
Slovak Republic 9.5 (0.7) 31.1 (1.0) 38.4 (1.1) 18.4 (0.9) 2.6 (0.4)
Slovenia 4.4 (0.4) 21.2 (0.8) 38.6 (1.2) 29.3 (0.9) 6.4 (0.7)
Spain 4.4 (0.4) 21.4 (0.9) 41.6 (0.8) 28.3 (0.8) 4.3 (0.4)
Sweden 4.5 (0.5) 20.1 (1.0) 35.9 (1.1) 30.3 (1.1) 9.1 (0.9)
Turkey 14.9 (1.1) 44.5 (1.4) 33.6 (1.5) 6.9 (0.8) 0.2 (0.1)
United Kingdom 4.2 (0.4) 18.3 (0.8) 34.6 (0.8) 30.9 (0.9) 12.0 (0.7)
United States 4.9 (0.5) 18.9 (1.0) 32.7 (0.8) 29.7 (1.0) 13.8 (1.0)
England 4.3 (0.5) 17.8 (1.0) 34.0 (0.9) 31.0 (1.0) 12.9 (0.9)
Northern Ireland 2.6 (0.5) 18.5 (1.4) 39.1 (1.6) 32.8 (1.4) 7.0 (0.8)
Scotland 4.2 (0.5) 19.6 (0.8) 35.1 (1.0) 31.2 (1.0) 9.8 (0.7)
Wales 3.9 (0.5) 23.0 (1.3) 41.0 (1.3) 27.2 (1.5) 4.9 (0.5)
OECD average 5.7 (0.1) 22.4 (0.2) 36.2 (0.2) 27.8 (0.2) 7.9 (0.1)

Table A.3: Relationship between student performance in collaborative problem solving and the PISA Index of Economic, Social and Cultural Status ( ESCS) and immigration background: OECD and UK administrations

Slope of socio-economic gradient 1 Strength of relationship between performance and ESCS 2 Differences in collaborative problem solving performance by immigration background 3
% s.e. Score points s.e Score points s.e.
Australia 35 (1.9) 6.7 (0.8) 0 (3.7)
Austria 35 (2.1) 9.0 (1.1) 52 (6.0)
Belgium 39 (2.0) 12.8 (1.2) 57 (4.9)
Canada 29 (1.7) 5.3 (0.6) 3 (3.8)
Chile 26 (1.5) 11.3 (1.3) 23 (13.2)
Czech Republic 38 (2.6) 11.2 (1.4) 11 (10.7)
Denmark 25 (2.0) 6.0 (0.9) 61 (4.3)
Estonia 26 (2.1) 5.0 (0.8) 49 (5.0)
Finland 33 (2.7) 5.8 (0.9) 81 (9.8)
France 44 (2.1) 12.3 (1.1) 51 (6.9)
Germany 29 (2.0) 7.6 (1.0) 49 (6.2)
Greece 28 (2.0) 8.3 (1.1) 40 (5.9)
Hungary 40 (1.9) 15.9 (1.3) -12 (11.5)
Iceland 17 (2.9) 1.7 (0.6) 54 (9.7)
Israel 38 (2.9) 9.4 (1.4) 4 (7.1)
Italy 26 (1.9) 6.7 (1.0) 13 (4.9)
Japan 27 (2.0) 5.2 (0.7) 121 (37.6)
Korea 28 (2.6) 5.1 (1.0) * *
Latvia 23 (2.1) 5.6 (0.9) 15 (7.4)
Luxembourg 30 (1.4) 11.3 (0.9) 25 (2.9)
Mexico 22 (1.4) 11.1 (1.4) 63 (12.2)
Netherlands 33 (2.7) 6.6 (1.1) 40 (7.1)
New Zealand 37 (3.2) 7.4 (1.2) 10 (5.3)
Norway 25 (2.1) 3.8 (0.6) 48 (5.7)
Portugal 23 (1.7) 8.8 (1.3) 20 (6.2)
Slovak Republic 30 (2.1) 9.7 (1.2) 68 (14.8)
Slovenia 32 (2.1) 8.0 (1.0) 50 (6.7)
Spain 20 (1.3) 7.0 (0.9) 29 (6.0)
Sweden 33 (2.5) 7.7 (1.1) 59 (6.3)
Turkey 19 (2.0) 7.9 (1.7) -11 (15.4)
United Kingdom 30 (2.2) 6.3 (0.9) 13 (6.6)
United States 29 (2.1) 7.5 (1.0) 20 (6.0)
England 31 (2.6) 6.5 (1.0) 15 (7.3)
NI 31 (2.9) 9.1 (1.6) 32 (7.0)
Scotland 28 (2.7) 5.6 (1.0) -4 (9.3)
Wales 19 (2.3) 3.2 (0.8) -2 (9.3)
OECD average 30 (0.4) 7.9 (0.2) 36 (1.9)

Notes
1: The amount that the average score changes with social background – a lower score implies less change as background changes.
2: The amount of variation in score explained by social background.
3: The mean score for non-immigrant-background pupils (with both parents born in the country of the test) minus the score for immigrant-background pupils. A negative figure implies that immigrant-background pupils score better.
* denotes that data is not available

Contact

Back to top