Findings of Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) showed that performance among students in Finland has continued to decline, said the Ministry of Education and Culture on Tuesday.
The performance of Finnish students, however, remained above the OECD average.
The average science score among students in Finland was 504 score points, well above the OECD average of 482 score points.
Among the 91 participating countries and economies, students in Finland remained among the top performers.
The highest science score was recorded by Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang (BSJZ of China, with an average of 597 score points, followed by five other East Asian countries and economies.
Estonia, Canada and the United Kingdom also outperformed Finland.
New Zealand, Australia, the United States, Switzerland and Ireland performed at a similar level to Finland.
Among the other Nordic countries, Sweden’s result (485) did not differ from the OECD average, while Denmark (478), Norway (470) and Iceland (441) scored below the average. Finland’s science result did not differ statistically significantly from its 2022 result (511), but the longer-term downturn remains clear.
Students in Finland continued to outperform (474 points) the OECD average (461 points) in reading literacy.
Fourteen countries and economies achieved a statistically significantly higher average score than Finland.
Among the other Nordic countries, Sweden’s reading score (466) was also above the OECD average, while Denmark (460), Norway (453) and Iceland (422) scored below it.
Compared with the previous assessment, average reading literacy deteriorated in 43 countries and economies and improved in nine. Among students in Finland, the reading score fell by 16 points, matching the average decline across OECD countries.
Finnish students scored an average of 469 points in mathematical literacy, remaining above the OECD average of 463 points. Nineteen countries and economies performed statistically significantly better than Finland in mathematics. Among the Nordic countries, Denmark (470) and Sweden (464) performed at the same level as Finland. Norway (452) and Iceland (450) scored below both Finland and the OECD average. As with reading, mathematics performance has widely deteriorated. The OECD average fell by 8 points compared with the previous assessment.
In both reading and mathematics, the share of low-performing students has continued to rise, while the share of top performers has dropped. In Finland, these changes have been more pronounced than the OECD average.
“Although learning outcomes have declined and performance gaps between students have widened, Finland continues to perform well by international standards. Finnish students also believe they can influence how successful they are. These are positive findings,” said Minister of Education Anders Adlercreutz.
“Nevertheless, we have every reason to take the decline in learning outcomes seriously. During this government term, we have undertaken a comprehensive programme to strengthen and develop basic education. I am confident that these measures will strengthen learning and improve students’ knowledge and skills. However, the impact of these measures on learning outcomes will take time to become visible. Learning requires persistence and determination. Every child deserves the opportunity to learn, succeed and build a good future for themselves,” the Minister added.