Latin America & Caribbean Region


                                               C O S TA R I C A
                                                             PISA 2015 1


                                                                                                                     Figure 1
                TAKEAWAYS                                                                            SCORES OVER TIME
       •   Costa Rica’s performance in PISA has
           deteriorated in 2015 in all three subjects—
           see Figure 1. Its performance used to be                                        MATHEMATICS                READING           SCIENCE

           above the regional average, but its now right
           on a par with it as a result of both these
           drops in scores for the country as well as                              2012                   407            441           429
           improvement gains by formerly low
           performers in the region (Figure 2).                                   2015                    400            427           420
       •   The worsening in PISA scores is mainly
                                                                               Δ 2012-2015                 -7             -14           -9
           driven by the transition of about 8 percent of
           the students from the basic to the below
                                                                                      † Equals      statistically significant change
           basic proficiency in science and reading
           (Figure 3). In 2015, almost half of the 15-
           years-old performed at a level below basic
           proficiency and risk exclusion.                                                                         Figure 2
                                                                                                      SCIENCE TRENDS
       •   The performance in Science compares to
           the regional average. However, by age 15,
           Costa Rican students amass the equivalent                     560
           of about two and a half less years of
                                                                         530
           schooling than those in the OECD (Figure
                                                                                                                                              OECD
           2).                                                           500
       •   Similar to others in the region, poverty is a
           large predictor of achievement, as students                   470      {                                                             CHILE†
                                                                                      ≈ 1 year of
           in the bottom quintile by socioeconomic                                    schooling
           status (ESCS) score about two and a half                      440                                                                  COSTA RICA
           years of schooling below those in the top
           quintile (Figure 4). On the other hand,                       410
                                                                                                                                             LCR(6)*
           differences between urban and rural
                                                                         380
           students are small.
                                                                         350
                                                                                   2000              2003        2006        2009      2012       2015

                                                                         † Chile is included for comparison as the LCR country with the highest score in 2015

                                                                         * LCR(6) includes the six countries in the region with results from 2009 to 2015


PISA: Program for International Student Assessment
PISA is the OECD’s benchmarking tool to assess achievement and application of key knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds. Launched in 2000 and
administered every three years, PISA tests proficiency in mathematics, reading, science, and problem-solving. In 2015, representative samples
from 72 countries and economies (9 LCR client countries) included 540,000 students.
       1 In 2015, the OECD introduced several improvements to the design, administration, and scaling of PISA. For further details of these

changes and their implications for comparability between the 2015 results and previous PISA assessments, please consult the PISA 2015
international report: OECD 2016. PISA 2015 Results (Volume 1): Excellence and Equity in Education. Paris: OECD.
                                                                    Latin America & Caribbean Region



                        Figure 3                                                                Figure 4
              STUDENT PERFORMANCE                                               EQUITY PROFILE
                                                                                                               ≈ 1 year of schooling




                                                                                                                        {
100%
                                                                       Top 20% ESCS
                                       High Proficiency             Bottom 20% ESCS
75%
                                       Basic Proficiency                        Urban
                                                                                  Rural
                                       Below Basic
50%                                    Proficiency                Preschool (Age 0-3)
                                                                  Preschool (Age 4-6)

25%                                                                             Males
                                                                              Females

 0%                                                                                       360      390      420       450       480
       2012     2015   2012     2015                                                               SCIENCE SCORES
                                                                      30 points in PISA scale ≈ 1 year of schooling
          Science         Reading                                     ESCS: Economic, Social and Cultural Status
                                                                      Clear bars represent LCR averages




                                                       Figure 5
                         GDP PER CAPITA AND PISA PERFORMANCE