According to the PISA assessment, our students’ results have once again placed us at the bottom of Europe.
They were ranked as the worst among the 27 member states of the European Union in reading comprehension and science, and second-worst in mathematics.
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In all categories, they scored below the EU average, while they were more hasty and left more questions unanswered than the average of the 91 countries assessed.
SEE ALSO: PISA Study Shows Students with a Migrant Background Perform Better Than Cypriot Students
24.9% of students in Cyprus spent no more than 10 seconds answering, and 4.7% did not answer at all. The corresponding rates in the European Union are 10% and 2.7%.
Particularly striking is the difficulty Cypriot students have in understanding texts in their native language, while students with an immigrant background achieved better results.
Forty-three percent lack even basic proficiency in the three subject areas, with the European average at 21%. Fifty-two percent lack even basic skills in the natural sciences, 56% in mathematics, and 62% in reading comprehension. These results are far worse than the European averages.
“There are findings that give us cause for concern. There are also points worth highlighting. Above all, however, the data help us see more clearly where changes are needed in our educational system.”
Athina Michailidou – Minister of Education
What data is worth highlighting? According to the Minister, the fact that we have remained stable at a low level.
“We’re seeing overall stability; we didn’t see the decline observed in other European countries in any of the three subjects. We saw a greater decline in math. In the other two subjects, performance remained consistently low.”
Athina Michaelidou – Minister of Education
The Minister of Education outlined the framework guiding the efforts of the relevant authorities to improve the situation, emphasizing the need for reforms.
“We are making specific changes in schools. Less rote memorization, more understanding, more application of knowledge, more real-life skills, better teaching, and more opportunities for children.”
Athina Michaelidou – Minister of Education
The Minister acknowledged that efforts to bring about change have been underway for 15 years. However, Cyprus’s results today are worse than they were in 2012, when the PISA assessments began.
Watch the report by Neoklis Neokleous:
