The results are in: How Australia’s education rankings reflect a class divide

Students around the world have fallen behind in reading and maths during the pandemic, but Australian teenagers have managed to buck the trend.

Instead of falling, Australia’s results in maths, science and reading have remained stable since 2018, according to the latest international education rankings.

This means Australian 15-year-olds now rank ninth in the world in reading and science and 10th in the world in maths.

But the story is not entirely rosy, with data revealing that almost half still did not meet national standards in those subjects, and those from wealthier backgrounds outperformed students from less privileged families.

And while Australia’s global ranking improved in 2022, thanks to other countries moving down the list, overall our performance has declined since the early 2000s.

How do these results work?

OECD: The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development collects data from its 38 member countries and sets international standards in areas such as education, tax evasion and the environment.
PISA: The OECD carries out research called the Program for International Student Assessment every three years, to measure and rank the performance of 15-year-olds in 81 countries in reading, mathematics and science.
ACER: The Australian Educational Research Council manages PISA in Australia and analyzes local results

Where is Australia located?

In 2022, Australian students performed at or above the OECD average in science, reading and mathematics, according to Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) results.

But while Australia’s results look good on paper, ACER senior researcher Lisa De Bortoli says this is mainly because other countries are underperforming.

“While it is encouraging that Australia’s results have stabilized, it is important to recognize that our position in the top 10 is largely due to the performance of other countries that are below us,” he said.

“Just over half of Australian students met the National Proficiency Standard (51 per cent in maths, 58 per cent in science and 57 per cent in reading), so a significant number of students fail to demonstrate that they have more that basic skills in those areas. “.

The number of “low achievers” has increased in all three areas, with just over a quarter of Australian students classified as such in mathematics, although this figure is still below the OECD average of 31 per cent.

But overall, Australia’s maths ranking is better now than before the pandemic, with students going from being on par with the OECD average in 2018 to surpassing it in 2022.

State by state, results vary

While Australia as a whole now performs above the OECD average in all three subjects, some states have fallen behind.

In mathematics, Tasmania and the Northern Territory performed below the OECD average.

The ACT was best in class in all categories, while nationally city school students outperformed their peers in regional and remote areas.

class counts

Australia performed well overall, but analyzing PISA data shows the impact socioeconomic status has on student performance.

The richer your background, the higher your chance of doing well on PISA.

While achievement in reading, science, and mathematics has declined across the board since the early 2000s, it has declined at a faster rate for those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

Australia is not alone in this: the situation is similar in most OECD countries.

Independent schools performed better in all three areas than other institutions, followed by the Catholic sector and then state schools.

ACER noted that public schools enrolled a much higher proportion of disadvantaged students, while private schools enrolled more privileged students.

Schools in the top-tier ACT enrolled more students from higher socio-economic backgrounds than the rest of the country, while the Northern Territory and Tasmania enrolled more disadvantaged students than anywhere else.

PISA also found that students from First Nations backgrounds scored lower than their peers.

About a quarter of public school students are classified as low achievers in science, with higher rates in math and reading.

Private schools have half the percentage of “low achievers” as public schools.(
Pexels: Katerina Holmes)

Low achievement rates in private schools are about half that.

What do rankings really mean for students?

The OECD touts PISA as a key factor in how countries shape education policies, and the latest results come just as the federal government prepares to significantly overhaul the school system.

A recent review of educator credentialing and learning calls for significant changes to the way teachers themselves are taught, and the federal government plans to respond in the new year.

The Strong Beginnings report called for nationally consistent hands-on experience and core content for how children learn, among other changes.

In the coming weeks, education ministers will publish another major review into school funding.

Negotiations will soon be in full swing between states, territories and the federal government with school funding agreements due to be renewed in 2025.