Illustrative stock photo (source: SME)
The youngest generation of Slovaks is not keeping up with their peers in other countries. They lag behind in mathematics, reading, and science. The education minister sees the results as justifying the changes he is preparing to propose.
The PISA 2015 survey focused on science, with reading, mathematics and collaborative problem solving as minor areas of assessment. Slovak pupils scored 461 points in science, while the average performance for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries was 493.
On average, the results were 10 points lower when compared with the previous, 2012 tests, the Education Ministry pointed out. However, when compared with the tests in 2006, which also had a particular focus on science, there was a significant decrease of 28 points.
Education Minister Peter Plavčan said the results did not surprise him and that he trusts his proposed reform to reverse the negative trend.
“The changes are inevitable,” he stated and noted that the reform should also transform the content of education.
