The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is an international study that was launched by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1997 and first administered in 2000. It aims to evaluate education systems worldwide every three years by assessing 15-year-olds’ competencies in the key subjects of reading, mathematics and science. PISA focuses on young people’s ability to use their knowledge and skills to meet real-life challenges. This orientation reflects a change in the goals and objectives of curricula themselves, which are increasingly concerned with what students can do with what they learn at school and not merely with whether they have mastered specific curricular content.

 

Malta has now participated for four times in the PISA assessment: in the 2009 cycle (with the assessment being administered in Malta and nine other countries in 2010 and is referred to as PISA 2009+), in 2015, in 2018 and in 2022. Results for PISA 2022 were published in December 2023.  Preparations are currently underway for our fifth participation in PISA when the survey will be administered in 2025. 

 

Click here to watch and listen to a discussion on EduChatter with education expert, Anna Pons, from the OECD, about the recently released PISA results, in which she shares her perspectives on the key findings, shedding light on the trends, challenges, and potential solutions that arise from the latest international assessment.