The latest PISA exams, which assess 15-year-old students across 91 countries and economies, show Australia ranking 10th in science and reading and 16th in mathematics, above the OECD average. However, the long-term trend reveals significant declines: reading scores are roughly two years of learning behind where they were in 2000, and mathematics scores are a little over two years behind the 2003 results. Science students today are almost one year behind their peers who sat the exam in 2006.
Jonas Bertling from the Australian Council for Educational Research, which administers the test, said the data shows long-term declines in reading and mathematics but that science scores have stabilised. "While we see some declines in the long run, we're still a very strong country," Mr Bertling said.
Blaise Joseph from the Centre for Independent Studies think tank described the long-term picture as "troubling", noting fewer high performers and more low performers across all three subjects. He attributed the lack of learning growth to classroom disruption, saying "students cannot learn effectively when classrooms are regularly disrupted".
Australian students reported improved discipline compared to earlier findings but remained among the lowest-ranked countries on that measure, placing 69th out of 80. Twenty-one per cent said they could not work well in most or all lessons, compared to the OECD average of 19 per cent, while 41 per cent reported noise and disorder in their classrooms, well above the OECD average of 31 per cent. The findings echo a report released last week which found one-third of lesson time was being lost to misbehaviour.