Key Findings

• New Zealand’s reading, mathematical and science literacy scores were all above the OECD average for PISA 2018.
• There was no significant difference in our performance in reading, mathematical and science literacy from PISA 2015.
• The long term trend shows a decline in scores for reading, mathematics and science.
• Socio-economically advantaged students have had a larger decline in reading scores since 2003 than disadvantaged students did and the gap in average scores between socio-economically advantaged and disadvantaged students remains large.
• Girls significantly outperformed boys for reading literacy but there were no significant gender differences in terms of mathematics and science.
• In Reading and Science, New Zealand had some of the largest variations in achievement compared to other countries. The gap between the top 10% and the bottom 10% of students in achievement has remained large since earlier PISA cycles.
• Measures of the relationship between achievement and socio-economic status were about the same as OECD averages. These measures were smaller than in 2009 meaning the relationship has weakened.
• Compared to the New Zealand averages Māori and Pacific students had lower average achievement but reported higher levels of some student wellbeing indicators such as teacher and parental support.