Latin America & Caribbean Region DOMINICAN REPUBLIC PISA 2015 1 TAKEAWAYS Figure 1 • As part of the deep reform that the DR education SCORES IN PERSPECTIVE system is undertaking and to set a baseline for it, the country participated in the PISA assessments for the first time. MATHEMATICS READING SCIENCE • Scores in all the main areas (math, science, and reading) for the DR are amongst the lowest DOMINICAN among the 72 participant countries and regions, REPUBLIC 328 358 332 most of them more developed than the DR—see Figures 1 and 2. LAC 394 418 410 • These results were not a surprise for the authorities. On the contrary, they will help them PISA 461 463 467 sharpen the ambitious reform agenda. • PISA results are just another expression of the OECD 491 498 493 great challenges that the education system faces to deliver learning for boys and girls. Among those, it is important to highlight the difficulties on early reading and math. Regional results in these Figure 2 areas in third grade already positioned the DR last SCIENCE TRENDS in the region (even among countries that do not participate in PISA). Moreover, high rates of 540 education failure (dropout and repetition) are 510 OECD pervasive in both primary and secondary education. 480 • It is encouraging that the DR is working hard to implement an ambitious teacher career (e.g. 450 recruitment, training, support, evaluation and 420 { LCR(6)* certification of teachers), is implementing a new ≈ 1 year of curriculum based on competencies, has expanded schooling 390 the school day, creating more opportunities for PERU† learning, and is expanding early childhood 360 development services. DOMINICAN 330 REPUBLIC • It is worth remembering that Peru was in a similar situation when first participating in PISA in 2000, 300 and today is one of the countries that has 2000 2003 2006 2009 2012 2015 improved the most, showing that focus on * LCR(6) includes the six countries in the region with results from 2009 to 2015 increasing learning delivers results. † Peru is included for comparison as the LCR country with the greatest improvement since 2000. 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 75% Bottom 20% ESCS Basic Proficiency Urban Below Basic Rural 50% Proficiency Preschool (Age 0-3) Preschool (Age 4-6) 25% Males Females 280 310 340 370 400 430 460 0% Science Reading Mathematics SCIENCE SCORES 30 points in PISA scale ≈ 1 year of schooling ESCS: Economic, Social and Cultural Status Clear bars represent LCR averages Figure 5 GDP PER CAPITA AND PISA PERFORMANCE WB EDUCATION ENGAGEMENT FINANCING: Support to National Education Pact ANALYTICAL: Technical assistance support through BB on: teacher training policies, school principal training, student assessment, curriculum strengthening SABER: Education Management Information Systems (EMIS)