The Moldovan students ranked third-sixth in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015, obtaining a better average score in each of the subjects. PISA showed that the boys have constantly better results than girls, but in Moldova the girls achieved better results than the boys in the three areas – science, math and reading, IPN reports.

Director of the National Agency for Curriculum and Assessment Anatol Topala told a news conference that the PISA 2015 assessment involved 540,000 students from 35 OECD member states and 37 partner states. Moldova was represented by 5,200 students from 227 education institutions and achieved one of the highest rises in the average score in each of the subjects within a three-year time span.

“Within PISA 2015, the Republic of Moldova witnessed an increase in the number of students who possess knowledge that enable them to actively and productively take part in the life of society,” stated Anatolie Topala.

Minister of Education Corina Fusu told the same news conference that even if the socioeconomic situation in Moldova is worse than in other states that took part in the assessment, the Moldovan students obtained good results. The reform to modify the Baccalaureate exam taking conditions, initiated in 2013, is an explanation for this.

The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a worldwide study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in member and non-member nations of 15-year-old school pupils’ scholastic performance on mathematics, science, and reading. It was first performed in 2000 and then repeated every three years. Its aim is to provide comparable data with a view to enabling countries to improve their education policies and outcomes. It measures problem solving and cognition in daily life. Moldova already applied to take part in the next PISA study of 2018.