Iceland sees fewer top-performing students in PISA results

Fewer Icelandic students are achieving exceptional results, while more are falling below the minimum proficiency levels set by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), according to PISA results reported by mbl.is.

Some 27.6% of students who took the assessment in Iceland failed to meet the basic benchmark in any of the three subjects tested: reading, mathematics and science. The corresponding OECD average was 19.7%.

Only 5.9% of Icelandic students achieved exceptional results in at least one of the three subjects, compared with an OECD average of 11.9%. Exceptional performance is defined as reaching level five or higher on the assessment’s six-level proficiency scale, while minimum proficiency is set at level two.

Reading results showed the sharpest decline. Some 44% of Icelandic students were below the minimum reading benchmark, up from 40% in 2022 and 22% in 2015. Across OECD countries, the figure was 31%, up from 26% in 2022.

The share of Icelandic students below the minimum level rose from 24% to 26% in science and from 31% to 35% in mathematics. Only 2% demonstrated exceptional reading proficiency. In science, the share achieving exceptional results rose from 2% to 3%, although the proportion below the minimum benchmark also increased by two percentage points.

The OECD said the global decline in reading and reading comprehension was the most concerning finding in the assessment. It said the trend was particularly severe in Iceland and Slovenia, where average reading scores fell by more than 50 points.

The OECD defines minimum proficiency as the level students need to reach to continue their education and participate actively in modern society.