Every three years, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD)’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) evaluates 15-year-olds’ reading, mathematics and science abilities through a standardised test.
The latest report, published on Tuesday, has revealed a concerning global decline in maths and reading skills in particular. Artificial intelligence (AI), smartphones and social media have been cited as contributing factors.
“The bottom line is quite simple: You don’t get fit by watching sports. You get fit by doing sports,” Andreas Schleicher, the founder of the OECD’s renowned PISA tests, told Euronews.
“And the same is true with learning. Learning doesn’t come through the consumption of content; learning comes by engaging with ideas to compare and contrast. And AI can hollow out that very process. That’s what we observe.”
But what about the adults? Are we any better? A 2024 study by Reading Agency found that half of the adults in the United Kingdom don’t read for pleasure, while a Eurostat survey from the same year found that almost half of EU citizens have not read a single book in twelve months.
It begs the question: How much better than the 15-year-olds would we all fare?
Now’s your chance to see — scroll to have a go at a sample of the OECD’s questions. Answers can be found at the very bottom of the page (no cheating!)
Mathematics
Question 1: Alex drew the following pattern of red and blue triangles.
The first four rows of the pattern are shown below.
What percentage of the triangles in the first four rows of Alex’s pattern are blue?
A) 37.5%
B) 50.0%
C) 60.0%
D) 62.5%
Question 2: Are the statements below supported by the information shown in the graph pictured? Answer either Yes or No for each statement.
- The number of DVDs sold declined by about 50% from 2008 through 2014
- The number of DVDs sold declined by the same amount each year from 2008 through 2014
- The slope of the line is the average yearly decline in DVDs sold from 2008 to 2014
Science
Question 1: Many people are concerned about the global environmental impacts of the manufacture and disposal of clothing.
Cotton fibres come from the outer layer of the cotton plant’s seeds. Compared to synthetic fibres, cotton fibres need less processing and biodegrade more easily.
The production of cotton textiles requires a lot of water, fertilisers, pesticides and other harmful chemicals. To try to solve these issues, sustainable cotton production methods are being developed.
Which of the following actions can be taken to reduce the negative environmental impacts of producing cotton textiles? Highlight all correct answers.
- Use water more efficiently
- Reduce the quality of the cotton textiles produced
- Increase the number of staff that cotton farms employ
- Use pesticides that are harmful only to the pest species being targeted
- Dispose of chemical waste in areas far away from the sites involved in cotton production
Question 2: When lightning strikes, an observer immediately sees a flash of light. Thunder occurs at the same time, but the observer hears it a little later.
The time taken before an observer hears thunder depends on factors including the distance between the observer and the location of the lightning strike.
Which one of the following statements best explains why lightning is seen before thunder is heard?
- The speed of light through air is faster than the speed of sound through air.
- Light does not need to travel through the air to be seen, but sound does need to travel through the air to be heard.
- Particles of light are not as heavy as particles of sound, so they are easier to detect
- Eyes detect light faster than ears detect sound
Reading
Question 1: In this test, you will read some sentences and decide if they make sense or not. Answer YES if the sentence makes sense and NO if the sentence does not make sense.
- The red car had a flat tire
- Airplanes are made of dogs
- The student read the book last night
Question 2: You are visiting your relatives, who recently moved to a farm to raise chickens. You ask your aunt, “How did you learn how to raise chickens?”
She says, “We talked to a lot of people who raise chickens. And, there are lots of resources on the Internet. For example, there is a Chicken Health forum that I like to visit. It was very helpful to me recently when one of my hens hurt her leg. I’ll show you the conversation I had.”
What does Ivana_88 want to know?
- If she can give aspirin to an injured hen
- How often she can give aspirin to an injured hen
- How to contact a veterinarian about an injured hen
- If she can determine the pain level of an injured hen
Financial literacy
Greg buys a bike.He takes out a loan with the bike shop’s in-store finance company.How much is Greg likely to pay?
- Less than 600 zeds
- More than 600 zeds
- Exactly 600 zeds
Answers:
Mathematics 1. A, 2. Yes, No, Yes.
Science 1. ’Use water more efficiently’ and ‘Use pesticides that are harmful only to the pest species being targeted’. 2. ‘The speed of light through air is faster than the speed of sound through air.’
Reading 1. Yes, No, Yes. 2. “If she can give aspirin to my hen”.
Financial literacy 1. The second response or third response with explanation that Greg will pay additional charges.
Find the OECD’s full PISA test here.