The most comprehensive comparison of student achievement in math and science around the globe is completed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The 2015 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) focuses on science understanding of 15 year olds (the 2012 report focused on math).
2015 results for the science portion (rank – country – mean score)(I am not listing all countries):
- 1 – Singapore – 556
- 2 – Japan – 538
- 3 – Estonia – 534
- 4 – Taiwan – 532
- 5 – Finland – 531
- 6 – Canada – 528
- 7 – Vietnam – 525
- 8 – China – 520*
- 9 – Korea – 516
- 13 – Germany – 509
- 13 – UK – 509
- 23 – USA – 496
- 26 – Sweden – 493 (this is also the OECD average)
- 56 – Mexico – 416
- 61 – Brazil – 401
* I am merging several distinct Chinese locations reported in the official report.
The 2015 PISA include 72 participating countries and economies. From the PISA report:
Related: 2009 results of science education student achievement around the globe – 2012 results for the science portion (math was the focus in 2012) – The Economic Consequences of Investing in Science Education – Country H-index Ranking for Science Publications
