Pupils in Switzerland received the best mean score for mathematics in Europe in Pisa 2015, a study led by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that evaluates the quality, equity and efficiency of school systems around the world.
Switzerland narrowly beat Estonia to become European maths champion, though it lagged behind global leader Singapore.
The Netherlands, Denmark and Slovenia followed just behind Switzerland in the maths rankings.
Switzerland also performed well in the science category, the main focus of Pisa 2015.
Though it didn’t take the top spot, Swiss students’ science prowess was judged to be better than the OECD average, joining an elite group that also included European countries Germany, the UK, Estonia, Finland and Belgium.
However the alpine country fell behind in reading, achieving a mean score judged to be around the OECD average.
This year around 540,000 15-year-old students from 72 countries completed the Pisa assessment, which involved multiple choice questions in science, maths, reading and collaborative problem solving.
Singapore out performed all other participating countries across maths, science and reading.
Member comments