Pupils in England have risen up the international rankings for maths, placing England as one of the top performing countries in the western world.
A worldwide education study published on 5 December 2023 shows England has significantly outperformed the international average and risen from 17th for maths in 2018 to 11th, and from 27th in 2009.
The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is an international assessment of 15-year-olds’ mathematics, reading and science ability. Conducted by the OECD, it is widely accepted as the international benchmark for academic attainment for secondary school pupils.
These strong results demonstrate that the government has made real progress in driving up standards.
These results also show that England has ranked 13th for both reading and science, having been placed at 14th and 13th respectively in 2018 and 25th and 16th in 2009. They build on England’s significantly improved position for 9- to 10-year-olds reading ability in a separate international study earlier this year, PIRLS, in which English children were ranked fourth out of 43 comparable countries – making them the best in the West.
Education standards have risen sharply since 2010, with 89% of schools now rated good or outstanding by Ofsted, up from just 68% 13 years ago.
Commenting, Richard Fuller MP said:
PISA's results show that England is up in the international rankins for education under this government. Under 12 years of Labour in 2009, our 15-year-olds were ranking 25th, 27th and 16th for reading, maths and science. Now we are 13th, 11th and 13th. We still have more to do but it's clear that education standards rise under the Conservatives.
Aside from attainment, the report has also highlighted other positives findings, including that England’s education system is more equitable that most– meaning that all children all have access to a brilliant education and a chance of success, no matter their background. Additionally, the report found that pupils in England were generally more positive about the quality of their maths lessons and the support given by their teachers, than the OECD average.
The government has enjoyed considerable success for maths over the years, with England achieving our highest ever score in primary school maths in TIMSS 2019. Over £100 million has been invested in the Maths Hubs programme, whose flagship Teaching for Mastery offer will have reached 65% of secondary schools by 2025. To help boost maths attainment further, the Government also announced the creation of a new National Professional Qualification in April to help embed best practice in their schools.
The report does highlight the challenge of the pandemic. In England, pupils have been supported to catch up with almost £5 billion available for education recovery measures, including more than £1 billion for the National Tutoring Programme alone, which has revolutionised the way targeted support is provided for the children and young people who need it most.
The report also found that the majority of pupils in England reported feeling safe in their schools.
The full report can be read here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pisa-2022-national-report-for-england
