A snap shot of the PISA ranking of countries (Photo: oecd.org) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Vietnam hasmissed out in the ranking of Programme for International Student Assessment(PISA) 2018 despite getting high scores.
According to theMinistry of Education and Training, the country scores 505 points(ranking 13th) in the reading test, 496 (ranking 24th) in maths,and 543 (ranking 4th) in science.
PISA 2018 measures15-year-olds’ ability to use their reading, mathematics and science knowledgeand skills to meet real-life challenges in 79 participating countries andeconomies.
The news has leftmany people raising their eyebrows while Vietnamwas already among top 20 countries that had students gaining the bestachievements under the PISA 2017’s ranking, which usually see the names ofhighly developed nations.
This year edition ofPISA results was issued on December 3 by the Organisationfor Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The educationministry explained there are two types of tests, paper-based and computer-basedand Vietnam still hasn't switched to the newer form of testing.
Vietnamparticipated in PISA 2018 using paper-based instruments. This year, onlystudents in Argentina, Jordan, Lebanon, Moldova, Republic of NorthernMacedonia, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and Vietnamstill took the paper test.
By the time the ranking was published, the international comparability of Vietnam’s performance in reading, mathematics and science could not be fully ensured. For this reason, the OECD did not report comparisons of Vietnam’sperformance in PISA with other countries.
Initially, OCEDsuggested that Vietnam’s test data would be publishedin 2020. The organisation wanted to spend more time to delve into thedifference of Vietnam’s test results, the ministrysaid.
However, thanks tothe active cooperation of Vietnam in processing thedata after the tests, the organisation agreed to announce the result of Vietnamwith other nations on December 12, without naming thecountry in the ranking.
The ministry saidOECD had sent the head of data analysis committee to Vietnamto evaluate the process of organising the test. The organisation said the country madeno errors in the process of organising and scoring the test.
Following the PISA2018 ranking, Asian countries once again came out on top. China and Singaporerank first and second, the Republic of Korearanks 9th and Japan ranks 15th.
European countriessuch as Estonia, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Norwayare also in the high-ranking group.
PISA is aninternational study that was launched by the OECD in 1997, first administeredin 2000 and now covers over 80 countries. Every three years, the PISAsurvey provides comparative data on 15-year-olds’ performance in reading,mathematics and science.
The Vietnameseeducation ministry said it wants to take part in PISA programme to see whereVietnamese students are placed in the world and to draw up an overall pictureof the country's education situation in comparision to other countries'education, which will then help to formulate necessary policies./.
