The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) assesses the extent to which 15-year-old students have acquired key knowledge and skills that are essential for full participation in modern societies. The assessment, which focuses on reading, mathematics, science and problem-solving, does not just ascertain whether students can reproduce what they have learned; it also examines how well they can extrapolate from what they have learned and apply that knowledge in unfamiliar settings, both in and outside of school. This approach reflects the fact that modern societies reward individuals not for what they know, but for what they can do with what they know.

Around 510,000 students (representative of about 28 million students overall) from all 34 OECD member countries and 31 partner countries and economies participated in PISA 2012, representing more than 80 per cent of the world economy. For the first time, PISA 2012 also included an assessment of the financial literacy of young people. The findings presented in this report will allow policy makers to gauge the knowledge and skills of students in their own countries in comparison with those in other countries, set policy targets against measurable goals achieved by other education systems, and learn from policies and practices applied elsewhere.