OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)

How to read the graphs...

Each country’s results are represented in horizontal bars with various colours.  On the left end of the bar is the 5th percentile – this is the score below which 5 per cent of the students have scored.  The next two lines indicate the 10th percentile and the 25th percentile.  The next line at the left of the white band is the lower limit of the confidence interval for the mean – i.e. there is 95 per cent confidence that the mean will lie in this white band.  The line in the centre of the white band is the mean.  The lines to the right of the white band indicate the 75th, 90th and 95th percentiles.

Results for states and territories are presented vertically, however the interpretation is the same.

Reading the graphs

From an international perspective...

• Five countries of which four were OECD countries, performed significantly higher than Australia: these were Korea, Finland, Hong Kong-China, Canada and New Zealand.

Student Performance in reading literacy by country

• In both PISA 2000 and PISA 2003 females outperformed males in reading literacy in all countries with the single exception of Liechtenstein in PISA 2003. 

• In PISA 2006 the pattern of females achieving significantly higher than males has continued.  

From an national perspective...

•  The mean performance and distributions for reading literacy in each Australian state is shown below along with the results for Korea, the highest performing country and the OECD average.

Student Performance in reading literacy by state

• Students from the Australian Capital Territory achieved the highest mean score, followed by Western Australia.  Both the Australian Capital Territory and Western Australia achieved a mean score that was significantly lower than that of Korea and significantly higher than all of the other OECD countries.  
• The Northern Territory’s mean score was significantly below the OECD average and the mean score for Tasmania was not significantly different from the OECD average. All other states and the Australian Capital Territory achieved a mean score that was significantly higher than the OECD average.
• Females from all states and territories significantly outperformed males in reading literacy.