Literacy

The OECD initiated the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) to provide policy-oriented international indicators of the skills and knowledge of 15- year-old students. PISA assesses youth in three domains: reading literacy, mathematical literacy, and scientific literacy. These domains are defined in PISA as:

• Reading literacy is the ability to understand, use, and reflect on written texts, in order to achieve one's goals, to develop one's knowledge and potential, and to participate in society.

• Mathematical literacy is the capacity to identify, understand and engage in mathematics, and to make well-founded judgments about the role that mathematics plays in an individual's current and future private life, occupational life, social life with peers and relatives, and as a constructive, concerned and reflective citizen.

• Scientific literacy is defined as the capacity to use scientific knowledge, to identify questions and to draw evidence-based conclusions in order to understand and help make decisions about the natural world and the changes made to it through human activity.