Measuring Up: Canadian Results of the OECD PISA Study

The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) is designed to assess, on a regular basis, the achievement of 15-year-olds in reading, mathematical and scientific literacy through a common international test.

Information gathered through PISA enables a thorough comparative analysis of the skill level of students near the end of their compulsory education. PISA also permits exploration of the ways that skills vary across different social and economic groups and the factors that influence the level and distribution of skills within and between countries.

PISA is a collaborative effort among member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In Canada, PISA is administered through a partnership of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada and Statistics Canada.

PISA will be repeated every three years. The first PISA cycle was conducted in 2000 and focused on reading, with mathematics and science as minor domains. The focus shifts to mathematics in PISA 2003, to science in 2006, and back to reading in 2009.

These reports provide results of the PISA assessments of student performance at the provincial level, and compare the achievement of Canadian students to that of students internationally.