PISA 2003: Problem-solving for tomorrow’s world

Overview

What is PISA?

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a three-yearly international survey of 15-year-olds that assesses their knowledge and skills for modern life. In 2003, the survey was carried out in the 30 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries, plus 11 other countries, and it tested over a quarter of a million students, including 4500 from New Zealand. The 2003 cycle also included a one-off survey of problem-solving.

What does PISA tell us about problem-solving?

PISA tells us how well students can use problem-solving skills in real-life situations. Specifically, it shows how well they can solve problems that require decision making, systems analysis and design, and trouble shooting.

How good are New Zealand students at problem-solving?

On average, New Zealand students do significantly¹ better at problem-solving than other students across the OECD countries.

More precisely, New Zealand has more 15-year-old students with high proficiency and fewer students with low proficiency than most countries. On average, approximately two-thirds of New Zealand students, compared with about half of all students across the OECD countries, can solve problems that require more than a basic level of proficiency. Over a quarter of New Zealand students are at the highest level of proficiency, are capable of solving advanced problems, and are described as ’reflective, communicative’ problem-solvers.

Only two OECD countries, Korea and Finland, scored higher than New Zealand students in problem-solving, on average. Five other OECD countries had average scores not significantly different from New Zealand. New Zealand has a relatively wide distribution of achievement scores in problem-solving, as do most other OECD countries. However, the distribution of scores for the two top performing countries, Finland and Korea, are narrow by comparison.

How does the problem-solving performance in New Zealand compare with the results in the reading, mathematics, and science assessments in PISA 2003?

Overall, New Zealand students typically did better in problem-solving than in mathematics, science or reading. This suggests that students have the potential to achieve better results in these three curriculum subjects, given that their generic problem-solving skills are relatively higher.

What are the differences in problem-solving between different groups in New Zealand?

• There is no significant difference between the performance of boys and girls.
• Achievement in problem-solving across the four main ethnic groups varies considerably, with European/Pākehā and Asian students performing significantly better on average than Māori and Pasifika students. Pasifika students’ average scores are significantly below the scores of the other three ethnic groups.
• Other student characteristics that are strongly linked to higher average scores in problem-solving include higher parental occupational status and attending higher decile schools.
• The average performance of Maori students in problem-solving is closer to the OECD average in comparison to their performance in the other PISA domains of reading, mathematics and science.
  

•  

Footnote

1. Throughout this report, the term significantly refers to statistical significance at the 0.05 level.