Latin America & Caribbean Region URUG UAY PISA 2015 1 Figure 1 TAKEAWAYS SCORES OVER TIME • Uruguay has mostly recovered from the decline in scores experienced in 2012 and is now performing MATHEMATICS READING SCIENCE slightly better than in 2009 in reading and science, although not in math—see Figure 1. • Uruguayan 15-years old are the second highest performers on average in the region, trailing only the 2003 422 434 438 Chileans. However, on average, they amass the equivalent of about two years of schooling less than 2006 427 413 428 students in the OECD (Figure 2). • Only roughly one in three Uruguayan students 2009 427 426 427 performs below basic proficiency in science or 2012 409 411 416 reading (Figure 3), which is considerably better than the regional average of one in two. Yet, in the OECD 2015 418 437 435 it is only one in five who performs below basic proficiency. Δ 2012-2015 9 26† 19† • Similar to others in the region, poverty is a large † Equals statistically significant change predictor of achievement, as students in the bottom quintile by socioeconomic status (ESCS) score about two years of schooling below those in the top quintile (Figure 4). On the other hand, differences between Figure 2 • urban and rural students are small. Students in public schools score three and a half SCIENCE TRENDS years of schooling below those public schools. This 560 large disparity is twice as large as the regional average and highlights the significant differences in 530 OECD education quality by school ownership. 500 • With regards to education expenditures, Uruguay is close to reaching the point at which further 470 { CHILE† ≈ 1 year of improvement in learning is more likely to result from schooling efficiency gains than from increased spending per 440 URUGUAY student. • For Uruguay to increase its performance, it is likely 410 LCR(6)* that it will have to focus on increasing teacher quality. 380 Among the steps it could take are: doing away with outdated teaching practices, strengthening teacher 350 training, enhancing career development opportunities, 2000 2003 2006 2009 2012 2015 introducing incentives, and making the teaching † Chile is included for comparison as the LCR country with the highest score in 2015 profession more attractive to those at the high end of * LCR(6) includes the six countries in the region with results from 2009 to 2015 the ability distribution. 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 100% ≈ 1 year of schooling { High Proficiency Top 20% ESCS 75% Bottom 20% ESCS Basic Proficiency Urban Below Basic Rural 50% Proficiency Preschool (Age 0-3) Preschool (Age 4-6) 25% Males Females 0% 340 380 420 460 500 SCIENCE SCORES 2006 2015 2006 2015 30 points in PISA scale ≈ 1 year of schooling ESCS: Economic, Social and Cultural Status Science Reading Clear bars represent LCR averages Figure 5 GDP PER CAPITA AND PISA PERFORMANCE WB EDUCATION ENGAGEMENT FINANCING: • Ongoing: Support to Uruguayan Public Schools Project (P126408) • Pipeline: Improving the Quality of Initial and Primary Education in Uruguay