Education in Bhutan: findings from Bhutan’s experience in PISA for Development

In this report, a team of Bhutan Council for School Examinations and Assessment and Ministry of Education officials have collated and analysed the information from Bhutan's participation in PISA-D so that it can be used to benefit the education sector. This report contributes sound data, information and analysis for work undertaken to support existing education policies, strategies and programmes in the future. The PISA-D assessment focuses on the core school subjects of reading, mathematics and science, and does not just ascertain whether students can reproduce knowledge; it also examines how well students can extrapolate from what they have learned and can apply that knowledge in unfamiliar settings, both in and outside of school. Bhutanese 15-year-olds performed at par with 15-year-olds of top PISA-D countries but lags significantly behind that of OECD countries and of the best education systems in Asia. This is shown by the average solution rates: 45.3% in reading literacy, 38.8% in mathematics literacy and 45.1% in scientific literacy. On an average in Bhutan, boys outperformed girls in mathematics and girls outperformed boys in reading. There was no significant difference between boys and girls in science solution rates.