Ireland’s schoolkids are among the top performers in reading literacy, a major international study has found.
The Programme for International Student Assessment results for last year showed our 15-year-olds are also well above the OECD average in science and maths.
We ranked fourth out of 36 countries and 3rd out of 27 EU countries for literacy and eighth out of 77 countries/regions involved in Pisa.
In Ireland, the difference between schools in student performance in reading literacy is less than half of what it is, on average, across OECD countries. The results also found girls perform better than boys in reading.
They also fare slightly better than boys in science but the results are not considered statistically significant.
In maths, Irish students ranked 16th out of 37 OECD countries. Education Minister Joe McHugh said: “It is particularly heartening to see how the variation between schools is significantly lower than other countries in these Pisa results.
“A large part of that success is down to the focus of Government on the Deis programme.
“Irish students have extremely high standards when it comes to reading.
“It is an envious position to be in and credit must go to being promoted by the department like the National Strategy on Literacy and Numeracy for Learning and Life (2011-2020) and how these are adopted by our schools, thanks to the dedication of our teachers.
"Overall, in maths and science results are relatively stable and our students are performing at an above average level, yet we can improve further.
“I am confident the changes which the Junior Cycle is bringing will help the development of our students’ critical thinking.
“It is no longer just about the facts and knowledge that we teach our young people but helping them see how they can put that into use.
“The Government is committed to promoting the uptake of STEM in post-primary and a key focus is increasing participation of young women.
