oecd programme for international student assessment (pisa ... · performance in environmental...

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Performance in environmental science and geoscience among 15-year-old students

A perspective from PISA 2006

OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)

Andreas Schleicher and Pablo ZoidoIndicators and Analysis DivisionOECD Directorate for Education

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OPISA

A three-yearly global assessment that… … examines the performance of 15-year-olds

in key subject areas as well as a wider range of educational outcomes

• Including students attitudes to learning and their learning behaviour

… collects contextual data from… … students, parents, schools and systems…

… in order to identify policy levers

Coverage Representative samples of between 3,500 and

50,000 15-year-old students drawn in each country Most federal countries also draw state-level

samples PISA covers roughly 90% of the world economy .

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Coverage of world economy 77%81%83%85%86%87%

OECD’s PISA assessment of the knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds

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O Deciding what to assess...

looking back at what students were expected to have learned

…or…

looking ahead to how well they can extrapolate from what they have learned

and apply their knowledge and skills in novel settings.

For the PISA assessment of the knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds, participating countries chose the latter

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OPISA defines environmental science performance in terms of a student’s:

• Scientific knowledge and use/extrapolation of that knowledge to… … identify scientific issues,

… explain biological and geoscience phenomena related to the environment, and

… draw evidence-based conclusions about the environment

• Understanding of the characteristic features of environmental science as a form of human knowledge and enquiry

• Awareness of how environmental science can shape our use of earth’s resources, policies about environmental sustainability, and future responsibility towards environmental quality?

• Willingness to engage with environmental science

For example

When reading about global warming, can students separate scientific-related from non-scientific aspects of the text ?

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For example

Do students know the difference between evidence-based explanations and personal opinions about the environment?

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For example

Are students aware of environmental changes and the effects of those changes on economic and social stability?

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This addresses the value students place on environmental science, both in terms of topics and in terms of the scientific approach to understanding environmental issues

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OExample: Greenhouse effect – fact or fiction?

Living things need energy to survive. The energy that sustains life on the Earth comes from the Sun, which radiates energy into space because it is so hot. A tiny proportion of this energy reaches the Earth. The Earth’s atmosphere acts like a protective blanket over the surface of our planet, preventing the variations in temperature that would exist in an airless world.

Most of the radiated energy coming from the Sun passes through the Earth’s atmosphere. The Earth absorbs some of this energy, and some is reflected back from the Earth’s surface. Part of this reflected energy is absorbed by the atmosphere.

As a result of this the average temperature above the Earth’s surface is higher than it would be if there were no atmosphere. The Earth’s atmosphere has the same effect as a greenhouse, hence the term greenhouse effect.

The greenhouse effect is said to have become

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OQuestion A:

What is it about the graphs that supports André’s conclusion?

Question B:

Another student, Jeanne, disagrees with André’s conclusion. She compares the two graphs and says that some parts of the graphs do not support his conclusion. Give an example of a part of the graphs that does not support André’s conclusion. Explain your answer.

Question C:

André persists in his conclusion that the average temperature rise of the Earth’s atmosphere is caused by the increase in the carbon dioxide emission. But Jeanne thinks that his conclusion is premature. She says: “Before accepting this conclusion you must be sure that other factors that could influence the greenhouse effect are constant”.

Name one of the factors that Jeanne means

Gives a factor referring to the energy/radiation coming from the Sun.

For example:

• The sun heating and maybe the earth changing position.

• Energy reflected back from Earth.

Gives a factor referring to a natural component or a potential pollutant. For example:

• Water vapour in the air.

• Clouds.

• The things such as volcanic eruptions.

• Atmospheric pollution

• The amount of exhaust

• Ozone.

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0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Hon

g K

ong-

Chin

a

Can

ada

Jap

an

Fin

land

Est

onia

Chin

ese

Tai

pei

Uni

ted K

ingd

om

Fra

nce

Kor

ea

New

Zea

land

Mac

ao-C

hin

a

Spa

in

Irel

and

Icel

and

Den

mar

k

Sw

eden

Uni

ted S

tate

s

OE

CD

ave

rage

Nor

way

Ger

man

y

Port

ugal

Cze

ch R

epub

lic

Rus

sian

Fed

erat

ion

Lit

hua

nia

Gre

eece

Aus

tria

Uru

guay

Isra

el

Slo

veni

a

Chile

Ital

y

Slo

vak

Rep

ublic

Tur

key

Tun

isia

Arg

enti

na

Bra

zil

Indon

esia

Rom

ania

Jor

dan

Ser

bia

Thai

land

Col

ombia

Mex

ico

Qat

ar

Kyr

gyzs

tan

Question A: As emissions increased the temperature increased

Question B: Deviations from the pattern

Question C: Factors that need to remain constant

%

Percentage of correct answersGreenhouse effect

24 tasks with an environmental context weregiven to 15-year-olds. The results of this test weresummarised in an index

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60

40

20

0

20

40

60

80

100F

inla

nd

Hon

g K

ong-

Chin

a

Est

onia

Can

ada

Chin

ese

Tai

pei

Lie

chte

nste

in

OE

CD

ave

rage

Port

ugal

Ital

y

Tur

key

Mexic

o

Indon

esi

a

Bra

zil

Level A Level B Level C Level D Below Level D%

474 475 424 410 489 522

Large proportion of top performers

Percentage of students at each proficiency level on the environmental science performance index

Large proportion of poor performers

These students are not able to interpret a graph or figure when given appropriate cues, nor are they able to show basic knowledge of common environmental processes…

These students can thoroughly explain environmental phenomena. They demonstrate an ability to compare and differentiate among competing explanations by examining supporting evidence and drawing from their knowledge. They are able to synthesize answers from multiple sources…

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High environment science performance

Low environment science performance

Finland

JapanCanadaEstonia

KoreaAustraliaNew ZealandLiechtenstein

GermanyHungaryCzech Republic BelgiumSwitzerland

PolandIreland United KingdomAustriaDenmarkOECD average

France CroatiaLithuaniaSpainSlovak Republic

Norway United StatesIceland

Luxembourg Greece

ItalyPortugal

BulgariaSerbia

Uruguay

Thailand

MexicoArgentina

ColombiaBrazil

Hong Kong-China

Indonesia

Israel

Jordan

Latvia

Netherlands

Sweden

Macao-China

MontenegroRomania

Russian Federation

Chile

Slovenia

Chinese Taipei

Turkey

Tunisia

Azerbaijan

400

420

440

460

480

500

520

540

6 16

Studentperformance canbe summarised in

terms of the mean performance

on the index

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Sco

re p

oint

dif

fere

nce

Gender differences in environmental science performance

-25

-20

-15

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

20

Jor

dan

Qat

ar

Thai

land

Lie

chte

nste

in

Gre

ece

Icel

and

Tur

key

Fin

land

Kor

ea

Nor

way

Uni

ted S

tate

s

Mac

ao-C

hin

a

Chin

ese T

aipe

i

Fra

nce

Pola

nd

Sw

eden

Hun

gary

Aus

tral

ia

Belg

ium

OE

CD

ave

rage

Can

ada

Sw

itze

rlan

d

Den

mar

k

Mex

ico

Spa

in

Rus

sian

Feder

atio

n

Port

ugal

Jap

an

Hon

g K

ong-

Chin

a

Ital

y

Indon

esia

Irel

and

Lux

embou

rg

Uni

ted K

ingd

om

Bra

zil

Ger

man

y

Chile

Males performbetter than

females

Femalesperform better

than males

Note: Gender differences that are statistically significant are marked in darker colour

Largest differences in favour of females

Largest differences in favour of males

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Bubble size indicates students

level of awareness of environmental issues (green if positive values,white if negative values)

Environmental performance and attitudes of students

Env

iron

ment

scienc

e p

erf

ormanc

e ind

ex

Student’s optimism regarding environmental issues

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…being aware of acid rain …can identify a source of acid rain

% o

f st

udent

s who

repo

rt…

Australia

Austria

Belgium

Canada

Czech

Republic

Denmark

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Iceland

Ireland

Italy

JapanKorea

Luxembo

urg

Mexico

Netherlan

ds

New

Zealand

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Slovak

Republic

Spain

Sweden

Switzerla

nd

Turkey

United

Kingdom

United

States

OECD

average

ArgentinaAzerbaija

nBrazil

Bulgaria

Chile

Colombia

Croatia

Estonia

Hong

Kong-

China

Indonesia

Israel

Jordan

Kyrgyzsta

n

Latvia

Liechtens

tein

Lithuania

Macao-

ChinaMonteneg

ro

Qatar

Romania

Russian

Federatio

n

Serbia

Slovenia

Chinese

Taipei

Thailand

Tunisia

Uruguay

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

FinlandHong

Kong-

ChinaAustriaSloveniaNetherlan

dsIrelandCanadaChinese

TaipeiHungaryGermanyLiechtens

teinEstonia

PolandBelgiumCzech

RepublicCroatiaLatviaUnited

KingdomKoreaSwitzerla

ndGreeceOECD

AverageAustralia

New

ZealandMacao-

ChinaSwedenJapanNorwayIcelandUnited

StatesLuxembo

urgLithuaniaDenmarkSlovak

RepublicSpainJordanPortugalItalyRussian

Federatio

nMexicoFranceIsraelUruguayMonteneg

roRomaniaChileBulgariaSerbia

ColombiaArgentinaBrazilAzerbaija

nTunisiaTurkey

ThailandQatar

Kyrgyzsta

nIndonesia

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

% o

f st

udent

s who…

Acid rain

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0

25

50

75

Air pollution

Energy shortages

Extinction of

plants and animals

Clearing of

forests for other

land use

Water shortages

Nuclear waste

School

TV, Radio, Newspaper or magazines

Friends

Family

Internet or Books

Main sources of knowledge on environmental issues (OECD average)

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OSources of learning and performance

No

Yes400

420

440

460

480

500

520

540

NoYes

450

509

480

523

No

Yes0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

NoYes

5%

24%

36%34%

Note: Figures refer to OECD average

Proportion of students wholearn from…

Performance of students wholearn from…

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OSome conclusions

In most countries, most 15-year-olds are familiar with environmental issues and show high levels of engagement

Performance in environmental science varies widely both within and across countries Close to 20% of students can tackle the most difficult environment

related science questions in PISA 2006, such as finding alternative explanations for the increase of CO2 emissions and the rising temperature of the earth. In four OECD countries, Canada, Finland, Japan and Korea, a quarter or more of students can answer this question correctly.

On the other side, across OECD countries, 16% of students cannot cope with very basic environment-related science questions, such as the role of freezing water in erosion

Students who have mastered the science of the environment feel better informed about complex environmental issues

Limited competency is often associated with complacency

Schools are the most common place where students find out about such issues Higher-performing students are also using the media and to a lesser

extent the internet to find out about these issues .

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Performance in environmental science and geoscience among 15-year-old students

A perspective from PISA 2006

OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)

Bonn, 31 March 2009

Andreas Schleicher and Pablo ZoidoIndicators and Analysis DivisionOECD Directorate for Education

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High environment science performance

Low environment science performance

Mean score atthe environment

science performance

index

Finland

Japan

GermanyPoland

OECD averageSpain

United States

Italy

Turkey

400

420

440

460

480

500

520

540

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8873

9

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Familiar Responsible Aware Knowledgable Optismistic

Finland Japan

69

14

93


Germany Poland

91

54

21

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100


Spain United States

49

97

2623


Italy Turkey

Students are highly engaged but unequally competentAir pollution / acid rain% of students

% of students

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OBeyond averages: What is the appropriate

level of environmental science competency?

6 10 14 13 16 16 17 223014

1519 22 22 22 25

25

32

2121

21 23 22 24 2121

18

31 28 23 20 19 17 17 13 7

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100F

inla

nd

Jap

an

Germ

any

Pola

nd

OE

CD

ave

rage

Spa

in

Uni

ted S

tate

s

Ital

y

Tur

key

Level A Level B Level C Level D Below Level D

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OGoing beyond averages: some students are

lagging behindPerformance by socio-economic background

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OSchools are the students’ main source of

learning about the environment

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OStudents and parents attitudes are aligned

Index of sense of responsibility

99 94 99 97 99 97

0

20

40

60

80

100

Pare

nts

Stu

den

ts

Pare

nts

Stu

den

ts

Pare

nts

Stu

den

ts

Germany Italy Turkey

Air pollution96

8695

8695 94

0

20

40

60

80

100

Pare

nts

Stu

den

ts

Pare

nts

Stu

den

ts

Pare

nts

Stu

den

ts


Energy shortages

97 87 9179

96 94

020406080

100

Pare

nts

Stu

den

ts

Pare

nts

Stu

den

ts

Pare

nts

Stu

den

ts


Extinction of plants

and animals

94 84 89 7897 95

020406080

100

Pare

nts

Stu

den

ts

Pare

nts

Stu

den

ts

Pare

nts

Stu

den

ts


Clearing of forests

for other land use 8774

9180

94 92

0

20

40

60

80

100

Pare

nts

Stu

den

ts

Pare

nts

Stu

den

ts

Pare

nts

Stu

den

ts


Water shortages97

85 9072

95 92

0

20

40

60

80

100

Pare

nts

Stu

den

ts

Pare

nts

Stu

den

ts

Pare

nts

Stu

den

ts


Nuclear waste

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OSources of student attitudes?

Relaying on less sources and optimism

Australia

Austria

Belgium Canada

Czech Republic

Denmark

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

HungaryIceland

Ireland

Italy

Japan

Korea

Luxembourg

MexicoNetherlands

New Zealand

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Slovak Republic

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

United Kingdom

United States

OECD average

Argentina

Azerbaijan

Brazil

Bulgaria

Chile

Colombia

CroatiaEstonia

Hong Kong-ChinaIndonesia

Israel

JordanKyrgyzstan

Latvia

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Macao-ChinaMontenegro

Qatar

Romania

Russian Federation

Serbia

Slovenia

Chinese Taipei

ThailandTunisia

Uruguay

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

`% o

f st

udent

s who

repo

rt b

eing

optimistic

% of students who learn from school and media

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Some additional conclusions

Most students across countries are engaged, the differences are in their competencies Countries can use this data to assess how well their students are

doing on environmental science and set different goals.

In such a new area, there is bound to be different approaches to teaching and learning across countries

Schools have an important role to play, because most students do their learning about the environment at school In terms of attitudes, students and parents are aligned. So, perhaps

educating students can have an impact beyond their own attitudes towards the environment

No room for inaction: Lack of learning at school may lead to complacency Schools may also play a role in shaping attitudes

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Thank you !

www.oecd.org; www.pisa.oecd.org– All national and international publications

– The complete micro-level database

email: [email protected]

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