International study: every fourth Ukrainian schoolchild is illiterate

Every fourth fifteen-year-old student in Ukraine has a low level of reading, mathematical and natural science literacy, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.

This is evidenced by the results of a study by the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA).

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It is noted that in the countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), every fifth student has a low level of reading, mathematical and natural science literacy.

“Our results are not as bad as anyone might have expected,” said Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Anna Novosad at today’s presentation of the first results of the international study of the quality of education PISA-2018 in Kyiv.

At the same time, according to the minister, the results of Ukrainian students are below the average for OECD countries in all three areas studied: reading, mathematics and science. The average for OECD countries is 488,89 in reading, 492,03 in math and 490,78 in science. The difference in student achievement compared to the average for OECD countries is 23 points in reading, 39 in mathematics, and 22 in science. According to the OECD, 30 points corresponds to one year of general secondary education.

Thus, for Ukraine the most problematic discipline is mathematics.

It is noted that in Ukraine there is a significant percentage of students with levels of reading, mathematics and science literacy below basic, and a small percentage who have achieved a high level of literacy in at least one of the disciplines.

According to the study, only 74,1% of 15-year-old teenagers in Ukraine have achieved a basic level of reading literacy, 64% - mathematical literacy, 73,6% - science literacy.

At the same time, 46,4% of 15-year-old students in Ukraine demonstrated a high level of reading literacy, 37,9% - literacy in mathematics and 43,6% - literacy in natural sciences.

It is also noted that significant differences in achievement exist depending on the type of terrain.

In large cities, the average score is 499,4, which differs from the average score of students living in cities - 479,9 and significantly different from the average score of students living in villages, hamlets and rural areas - 420,6. Thus, in time terms, the difference between the achievements of students in cities and villages is more than 2,5 years of study.

In addition, the study showed that boys read much less than girls. The average reading achievement among boys is lower (450,1 points) than among girls (483,6 points). In Ukraine, the gap (33,5 points - more than one year of study) is larger than the average for OECD countries (30,1 points).

Among other things, according to the report, students in Ukraine feel more satisfied with life than their peers in OECD countries.

According to Novosad, the PISA results pointed to two problems: low levels of math literacy and deep inequalities in access to quality education depending on location and socioeconomic status.

Ukraine first joined the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2016. The program aims to compare the educational systems of about 80 countries around the world by measuring student competencies in reading, mathematics and science that are not directly related to mastering school curricula. In addition, much attention in the PISA study is paid to the study of factors influencing the successful learning of students.

PISA is conducted every three years by testing the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students. PISA does not test the level of educational achievements of students, but it assesses how much a student can use the knowledge and skills acquired at school in the face of possible life difficulties.

In addition to assessing subject-matter competencies, PISA also aims to identify factors that influence the level of educational achievement of students around the world.

Interestingly, the results of the study refuted the popular thesis in Kyiv that Ukraine is not Russia. In terms of basic basic indicators and the level of backwardness and illiteracy among schoolchildren, Ukraine is in the group of post-Soviet countries - including Russia, Georgia and Moldova.